The City on the Hill
by E350
Summary: After winning a contest, Steven and the Gems take a trip on a luxury cruise on the Pacific Ocean. But what was supposed to be a laid-back vacation soon goes awry as they encounter an ancient Gem city under the sea... Amedot, Steven/Connie. OCs. Follows canon up to Know Your Fusion. Rated for violence.
1. Prologue

Typical, isn't it - you have writer's block for ages and then a whole lot comes out at once.

Anyway, this here's my first ever Steven Universe story, so please bear with me. Hope you like!

* * *

 **The City on the Hill**

 **Prologue**

Despite what the explorers of Europe liked to tell themselves, there were very few places in the Pacific Ocean that were truly undiscovered by the turn of the eighteenth century. The Polynesians had seen to that - undertaking vast voyages across these unforgiving seas long before European ships had ventured into the Atlantic, never mind the Pacific. These seafarers often sailed and established great civilizations - in modern New Zealand, in Fiji, in Hawaii, and in countless others.

But never here.

Some had tried sailing to this island, but all had disappeared. It was an anomaly - a perfectly ordinary looking island, covered in green growth like many others, volcanic but dormant. It looked unremarkable, and yet nobody who came ever returned.

Attempts to settle the island were ramped up after the 1600s, when bold (some might say hubristic) Dutch mariners learned of the island and it's record and decided to make history as the first men to return from there. They failed, time and time again. Not only did the men vanish, so too did their ships and all of their stores. The same fate was met by French and British sailors in the eighteenth century.

Eventually, even the most pigheaded captains got the point. When Captain James Cook sailed by whilst captaining HMS _Discovery_ , he drew some charts but pointedly declined to sail too close. He was the last European to visit for decades. The distractions of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars saw to that.

Then, in 1845, in a world that claimed to be ruled by reason and science, the Royal Navy decided to put 'old superstition' to rest. A steam frigate, HMS _Reliable_ , was dispatched to the Pacific with orders to 'raise the flag and return post-haste with a report.'

The voyage was beset with problems from the very beginning. The commanding Commodore Forrest was an experienced officer, one of Lord Nelson's protégés, but he was elderly and gout-ridden. The first officer was his son, Lieutenant Benjamin Forrest, and while he was a competent officer he was resented by the other officers for what they saw as nepotism. The Captain of Marines was a drunkard who left the majority of his work to the sergeant. There was not enough fresh food, necessitating a trip around the dangerous waters of Cape Horn so that they could restock on the way. The sailing master died of dysentery just before they crossed Drake's Passage, making navigation that much more difficult.

The ship, despite its name, was very new, which meant she had a long catalogue of problems. She was driven by an underpowered steam engine that made little in the way of speed, and there were barely enough men to man the sails. The boiler had a very, very nasty tendency to catch fire without warning. The paddle-wheels jammed constantly. The weight of the ship was badly balanced, which made her a terror to sail in stormy weather - which was nearly constant in the voyage around South America.

By the time they reached the island, the crew was almost on the point of mutiny. Nearly every sailor refused to disembark the ship when they anchored, and some were muttering about making off for America.

The captain decided to take the marines (excluding their totally useless captain), Lieutenant Forrest and two of his less loyal officers ashore with him, leaving the second lieutenant in charge. The second lieutenant was popular and considered loyal, so it was hoped his presence would calm the crew.

There was never a chance that Forrest and his party would return to Great Britain. Not simply because of the island and it's apparent curse, but because the _Reliable_ immediately raised anchor and sailed for America as soon as her captain was out of sight. The _Reliable_ mutiny would lead to a brief diplomatic incident between Britain and America, a few exaggerated novelizations and the commissioning of the ship as the American USS _Keystone_ , but otherwise would become a historical footnote. Forrest and his companions were presumed to have starved on the island and quietly forgotten about.

Commodore Forrest was not dead.

In fact, not a single person had ever died in the multitude of failed voyages to the island.

The island - or rather, the volcano whose peak formed the island - was created from the wreck of a Gem ship. It was a space liner, a ship which carried aristocratic gems in the very height of luxury to prospective colonies. On its final approach to Earth, it was hit by a freak comet and slammed into the Pacific Ocean - the crash and ensuing explosion formed the volcano.

Most of the Gems aboard were shattered in the landing, but a third of the ship's passengers and crew survived. With all communications with the outside lost, the ship's company decided simply to carry on with establishing a colony inside the newly-formed volcano. With the end of the Rebellion, this city became the last piece of Homeworld civilization on Earth.

They named it after the liner - Providence. And as time went on, Providence acquired new denizens - curious humans captured on the island...


	2. Chapter One

So one thing I like about Steven Universe being set in an alternate world is that it gives me the freedom to make stuff up about it's history. At least until I get contradicted by canon, but ah well. Anyway, the _Discovery_ is literally just the _Queen Mary_ with a different name, and Drake Bay is supposed to be San Francisco.

* * *

 **One**

She was called the _Discovery_ , after Cook's ship, and she was one of the finest luxury cruise ships in the world.

The _Discovery_ first sailed as an ocean liner in 1936, four years before the beginning of the Great Eastern War - the pride of the White Sun Line. During the War, she was commandeered by the British Navy, ferrying vital supplies to Norwegian and British forces holding out against the Soviets north of Narvik. After the end of the war, as airplanes killed the liner business, she fell into disrepair. After languishing in dry-dock in Southampton for a few decades, White Sun refitted her as their flagship cruise ship as part of a new business strategy. Although she was no longer the biggest or the fastest passenger ship in the world, she was regarded as one of the most prestigious and most luxurious on the seas.

She also hadn't turned a profit a day in her life.

She didn't sail much anymore - she was put to sea once every few years, a massive promotional event for White Sun. This meant pomp, ceremony, and more than a few cheap PR stunts. The most notable of these was the Three of Three Promotion - a 'lucky dip' organised by the company to win three sets of three cabins aboard the ship. Every time the ship sailed, a small town would be chosen to hold to dip.

For this voyage, that town was the coastal hamlet of Beach City, Delmarva.

It was a beautiful afternoon, and much of the town's small population were gathered on the boardwalk. A small truck had pulled up on the edge of the beach side of the walkway, where it had been opened up to reveal a small stage. The townsfolk whispered animatedly among each other, waiting for the draw to begin. Harold Smiley was up on the stage, quietly testing the microphone.

At the front of the crowd, Steven Quartz Universe stood next to his father, Greg, waiting for the draw to start.

"Isn't it nice of the White Sun Line to give away free tickets?" asked Steven.

"Eh, I dunno, kiddo," shrugged Greg, "I think it's mostly just a cheap sympathy stunt."

"Yeah, true," admitted Steven, "But wouldn't it be cool if we won? It'd be like that hotel in Empire City, except it's also a boat and it's free! Think of it - blue skies, sea breeze, dolphins..."

"Alright, Stu-ball," chuckled Greg, rubbing Steven's hair, "Let's wait and see if we actually win this thing first, huh?"

All of a sudden, there was the screech of a microphone turning on.

"And now, ladies and gentlemen," Mr. Smiley's voice announced, "The CEO of White Sun, Fabien Sun!...and the Mayor, I guess."

A moustachioed man with swept-back hair in a brown pinstripe suit strode confidently onto the stage, Mayor Dewey following him somewhat meekly. The businessman took centre stage, grabbing a hat from Mr. Smiley. Mr. Smiley patted him on the back and beamed before leaving - the businessman shuddered a little but shook his head and smiled.

"Good afternoon, Beach City," he said, "My name is Fabien Sun, Chief Executive Officer of the White Sun Line, and I am proud to present the Three of Three Draw for Beach City. And may I say, this is a very beautiful settlement you have here."

"Pssh - brownnoser," Steven heard Mr. Fryman grunt.

"The _Discovery_ is, in my humble opinion, the most handsome ship on the seas today, and it is my great privilege to be able to extend the experience of my ship to you fine people. So without further ado, I'm going to hand over to Mayor Dewey here and let him draw the winners. Mr. Mayor?"

He stepped back, handing the hat to Dewey.

"Before we start, let's have a...ah...round of applause for Mr. Sun!" exclaimed Dewey.

The crowd clapped politely.

"And how about one for the Mayor?" added Dewey, smiling and raising a fist.

There was a long and uncomfortable silence. Dewey swallowed, adjusted his collar and cleared his throat.

"So, uh, anyway, let's pull the first winner out, huh?"

He shook the hat and reached into it, pulling out a folded slip of paper.

"Our first winner this afternoon is..." he unfolded the paper, "...Jenny Pizza! Come on up!"

The crowd applauded as Jenny walked onto the stage, smiling and waving as she reached the microphone. She shook Fabien's hand and dodged Dewey's attempt to do the same.

"Congratulations, Ms. Pizza," said Fabien with rehearsed causality, "If I may ask, who do you intend to bring with you, ma'am?"

"You bring your family or you're grounded for a year!" Kofi Pizza bellowed from the crowd.

"Ignore him, you do what you want!" Nanefua shouted, "Live free!"

"Well," mused Jenny, scratching her chin, "I'm thinking...Buck...Sour Cream...Kiki, gotta look out of my twin...yeah, that's enough, I think."

"Good to hear," nodded Fabien, "Good to hear indeed. Well, we'd best keep this going. Mr. Mayor?"

"Right," said Dewey, shaking the hat and pulling another winner, "The second winner is...Sadie Miller!"

"Woo! Sadie!" cheered Steven as the crowd applauded.

Sadie climbed the stage and shook both Fabien's and Dewey's hands, blushing a little from the attention.

"Uh, thanks Mr. Sun, I guess," she said.

"So, who do you intend to bring?" asked Mr. Sun, clearly pretending to be interested.

"I don't know, I think I need time to decide..." she began.

" _Sadie! Sadie! Hey! Sadie! Sadie!_ "

Steven could see Lars stretching his hand over the crowd.

" _Fine,_ " said Sadie, sighing heavily.

Lars punched the air.

"And now for our final draw," announced Mr. Sun, "Mr. Mayor, do the honours."

"Well son," said Greg, "We're probably not gonna win this one, but the important thing is we had fun. And when this is done, we'll go get ice-cream."

"The third winner is...Greg Universe!" called Dewey.

"Well, there we go," nodded Greg, "What's say we hit up the ol' ice-cream..."

He trailed off, realising what had happened.

"Wait, we _won?!_ " he exclaimed.

"We won!" cheered Steven, "Come on!"

He dragged his father onto the stage, the crowd cheering as he did. Mr. Sun stepped back as he bolted excitedly onto the stage.

"Woo! Up top!" he cheered, raising his hand. Dewey returned the high five - he then noticed Mr. Sun glaring at him.

"Well, he's pretty much the only one who actually _likes_ me..." he muttered.

"Quite," nodded Mr. Sun.

He cleared his throat and smiled again.

"Well, congratulations, Mr. Universe...smaller Mr. Universe," he said, "Now tell us, who will you be bringing on your voyage?"

Steven smiled - Mr. Sun's face fell.

* * *

The train station was very busy this morning - it always was. This was the Philadelphia terminus of the Fast Train, the unimaginatively named transcontinental train that took passengers from the east coast to Drake Bay in Alto California. The state-of-the-art European-style FT was considered a marvel of engineering - and yet, just ten years after opening, it was already seen as a very pedestrian way to cross the country.

The westbound FT departed from Platform One. Steven gazed in wonder at the shiny silver train before him - he'd never actually been on the FT before, so this was anything but routine for him. His cheeseburger backpack was full and he carried a small suitcase of clothing beside him.

"Wow," he whispered.

"Yeah, _wow_ , it's a train," nodded Amethyst, walking up alongside, "Can we get going soon? The Mayor's getting emotional."

She pointed to Buck Dewey, whose father was kneeling in front of him, blubbering inelegantly.

"Alright Bucky-boy," he sniffled, "You...you look after yourself...don't talk to strangers and...and... _oh they grow up so fast!_ "

He fell to the ground, sobbing. Buck stoically put a hand on his father's shoulder.

"Yeah," nodded Steven, "We should catch up with the others."

They began to walk up the train, passing Sadie and Lars. Next to them were the Fryman family - Mr. Fryman was talking sternly to his son.

"Now, look after your brother," he said, "Make sure he doesn't get into trouble, okay?"

Ronaldo sighed theatrically.

" _Yes father._ "

"I'm not talking to you," said Fryman, putting a hand on Peedee's shoulder, "Make me proud son. Bring him home."

Peedee nodded.

"I won't let you down, dad," he said.

"Ugh, can't believe we have to bring a toddler with us," grunted Lars.

"Hey, Peedee's a good kid, Lars," said Sadie.

Lars grunted loudly.

Before long, Steven and Amethyst had reached the rest of their group - the Crystal Gems (and Greg). Garnet was carrying four suitcases over her head, while Pearl was reading off a list of things they needed to take.

"So we packed toothpaste?"

"Yep," said Garnet.

"Toothbrush?"

"Yep."

"The Jaws of Life?"

"Pearl, we are never going to need that."

"It pays to be safe, Garnet."

Next to them, Peridot was sitting on a seat between Greg and Lapis, scrutinising the train.

"Well, it's got wind resistance going for it," she shrugged, "But I just think an engine that requires external electrical energy to be way too inefficient? Why haven't they just used an anti-matter reactor instead?"

"Uh...humans don't have that, Peridot," replied Greg.

"Well then _make one_ ," said Peridot, as if it was the most obvious solution in the world.

"I just like the colour-style," said Lapis, "It's very morpy."

"Hmm...yes, the minimalistic style does add a very morpy quality to it," nodded Peridot.

"Uh...yeah," nodded Greg, not really understanding what was going on.

Steven put his hands on his hips.

"Well, that looks like everyone," he said, "Except...it feels like somebody's missing...somebody _important_..."

"Steven!"

Connie Maheswaren leapt out of the crowd around the train, embracing Steven tightly. Her parents followed after her, carting a trolley full of bags.

"Connie!" exclaimed Steven, "You made it!"

"Yep, I got my parents to agree to let me come," nodded Connie, "I...had to make some concessions."

Greg walked up to the trolley as the Maheswarens began to unload it.

"Medical supplies," said Doug, putting a bag in Greg's hands.

"Dietary supplements," said Priyanka, stacking another bag on top of it.

"Textbooks for missed schooling," said Doug, stacking another bag.

"Contact numbers," said Priyanka, piling an especially big bag onto the top.

"And maritime survival equipment," finished Doug, piling a final bag onto the pile, "Should be an inflatable raft in there, just in case. Better safe than sorry, y'know Greg?"

"Sure," wheezed Greg, straining under the weight of the bags, "I get that. Uh...Garnet?"

Garnet walked over and grabbed the bags, effortlessly lifting them on top of the ones she was already carrying.

"We should've packed lighter," she said.

"One more thing," said Priyanka, "A question."

"No problem," nodded Greg, "Shoot."

"If Connie were to be attacked by a shark, or any other dangerous maritime animal, will you surrender your life to protect her?" asked Doug, eyes narrowed.

Greg's jaw slackened and he began to sweat.

"Certainly!" said Pearl brightly, giving the Maheswarens a thumbs-up and a mile.

"Okay, that's excellent," said Priyanka, smiling and leaning over he daughter, "Make sure you have fun on your trip, Connie. And call regularly. We love you."

"Love you too, mom," said Connie, hugging Priyanka, "I'll be back before you know it."

Doug patted Connie on the head as they began to leave.

"See you around, Greg!" said Doug jovially, "And remember, if she doesn't come back, you're dead!"

Greg swallowed as he watched Connie's parents leave. He mopped his brow.

"Yeah," he said, "No pressure, I guess."

 _"Attention all passengers, the train will be departing in five minutes_."

"Well, I guess that's it," nodded Steven, "We've got a ship, a crew and a call to adventure."

"Dude, it's just a cruise," reminded Amethyst.

Steven pointed dramatically at the train doors.

"Avast, me hearties!" he yelled, "Board yonder ship and set sail!"

He charged into the train, Connie right behind him. The rest of the group followed at their own pace. Before very long, the doors closed. The train rumbled out of the station and began its journey to the west coast.

The adventure had begun.

* * *

AN: I do actually like Mayor Dewey, mean to him though I am.


	3. Chapter Two

You know, usually when people say they're writing a shipping fic they don't mean it quite like this.

Guest review replies;

 **Guest:** Train sickness. ''twould not wish it on anyone. Thanks for reading!

* * *

 **Two**

The _Discovery_ towered over the cheering crowds on the deck. She was massive but not ostentatious - painted a slightly yellowed white with a red-lined black hull. Her three funnels - disused for years after conversion to diesel-electric engines - stretched majestically into the sky.

The White Sun Line had dressed their crew in uniforms not dissimilar to those of the 1920s and 30s - navy blue, double-breasted tunics over shirts and ties, pressed trousers and polished shoes and stately peaked caps. The bridge crew were preparing for departure, checking for any faults in the navigation systems. Her young and dashing commander, Captain Fred Student, stood outside, gazing over the railing at the assembled crowds.

"She always attracts attention, doesn't she?" he asked aloud, "I suppose I shouldn't be surprised anymore. She _is_ an engineering marvel."

"Well...not really."

The first officer, Martin Stokes, stepped out next to him. He was a much earthier fellow, somewhat short and a little stout.

"What do you mean, _not really?_ " demanded Captain Student.

"Well, it's not exactly _functional_ , Fred," replied Martin, "I mean, _a bridge_ is an engineering marvel. A _skyscraper_ is an engineering marvel. This is basically just a big yacht ferrying a bunch stupidly rich twits about the Pacific Ocean for a few days whilst leaving a massive environmental footprint. I mean, are people going to look back on these voyages and say 'wow, the Duke of Wherever-it-is got to swim with some dolphins, that was really a turning point in the history of mechanical engineering...'"

Captain Student sighed heavily and cradled his temple.

"Shut up, Martin," he sighed.

"I'm just saying..."

"Tell them to start boarding the passengers."

"Yes sir, Captain Student sir," replied Martin, somewhat sarcastically.

Down below, Steven and Connie waited next to the boarding ramp to be allowed on. Behind them, Garnet, Amethyst and a weary looking Greg were being questioned by Pearl, who wanted to be absolutely sure they had everything before they boarded.

"So," said Steven, "It's pretty big, huh?"

"Pretty impressive," nodded Connie, "I mean, I heard it's not as big as the _Carnival Bream_ , but..."

"Pah! _Carnival Bream_ might have the size advantage, but there's just no charm to sailing in a massive floating rhombus."

Fabien Sun stepped out of the crowd, crossing his arms as he looked up at his ship.

"Now _this_ ," he said snootily, " _This_ is a ship. They don't make them like this anymore."

"Hi Mr. Sun!" said Steven, waving jovially.

"Good morning, young...um...Sven, isn't it?"

"Steven!" corrected Steven, "This is my friend Connie."

"Good morning, Mr. Sun," Connie said, waving politely.

"Yes, very good," nodded Fabien quickly, "Hopefully they open the ramp soon - I need to speak with Captain Student before you set sail."

"You're not coming?" asked Steven.

"Oh no, I hate the sea," replied Fabien, "Full of slimy, ugly creatures - too much like the office. Besides, you're stopping near the ghastly island and I have just enough superstition in me to keep clear of it."

"What island?" asked Connie.

" _Attention all passengers, this is First Officer Martin Stokes. You may board when ready._ "

"That's my cue," nodded Fabien, "Good day, Sydney."

He strode purposefully up the ramp, nearly knocking over a crewman heading the other way as he did.

"It's Steven!" called Steven.

He shrugged.

"He'll remember it eventually."

Connie narrowed her eyes.

"What's he mean by 'that island?'" she asked again.

* * *

The cabins that Greg had won were on what was called the 'Main Deck' - a floor above the top of the ship's hull. They looked out over the starboard side, to the right of the ship. They had split the group between the three cabins - one to Greg, Steven and Connie, one to Garnet, Amethyst and Pearl, and one to Peridot and Lapis. In Steven's case, this meant that somebody had to sleep on the couch - an opportunity he immediately leapt for, as it was not something he'd done before.

There were a few hours before departure, and Steven had taken the opportunity to explore the ship, bringing Connie, Amethyst and Peridot with him. They had climbed up to the top deck (or at very least, the highest deck they were allowed on) and were walking along the side.

"So, where do you think they keep the food?" asked Amethyst.

"The galley, I guess," shrugged Connie, "Hang on..."

She pulled a map of the ship from her pocket.

"Let's see...there's a grill on the Sun Deck, a few lounges, pretty sure they double as restaurants, the old Third Class Eating Hall, that's a restaurant now..."

Steven looked over to Peridot, who was gazing up at the ship's three tall funnels.

"Is this thing steam-powered?" she asked, somewhat incredulously.

"Well, it's an old ship," shrugged Steven.

"Then why keep it?" demanded Peridot, "It's _obsolete._ "

"It's something people care about," replied Steven, "It's like a big floating museum."

"Museum?" asked Peridot, stretching the word out as if she didn't quite know how to say it.

"Yeah!" nodded Steven, "Aren't there museums on Homeworld? You know, cool old stuff, like dinosaur bones, or fossils, or old soup cans?"

"We didn't keep old stuff around on Homeworld," said Peridot, "We just...recycled it after it stopped being useful. Recycled machines, recycled buildings, recycled..."

She trailed off, looking over at Amethyst, who was still talking to Connie.

"...anything we didn't think was useful," she said, swallowing.

"Geez," Steven winced.

Peridot looked back up at the ship's funnels.

"I think I like how Earth does it better," she said, " _Inefficient_ as it is."

Steven smiled.

" _Attention all passengers, the ship will be departing in ten minutes._ "

"Well, looks like we'd better get back to the cabin," said Steven, "Otherwise we can't wave over the side like they do in movies."

"And we need to do that... _why?_ " asked Peridot.

"Because we can make weird faces at the TV cameras to bug Pearl," shrugged Amethyst, "Come on!"

She led Steven and Peridot off to the stairs. Connie made to follow, but stopped as she heard a voice behind a wall.

"...keep an eye on the captain, Third Officer. This has to go off without a hitch."

"Mr. Sun," Connie whispered to herself.

"Aye sir, I'll keep him close. It'll all be safe as houses."

"Good, good," Mr. Sun said, sounding relieved, "Make sure the _Discovery_ stays the course, and I'll handle everything on my end. We cannot afford any mishaps - it'd be disastrous on the stock market, especially at this point."

"Yes sir, will do sir."

Connie heard Mr. Sun chuckle.

"Good. It would be a _tragedy_ if anything were to happen to the ship, y'know? Especially with so many of our shareholders on this voyage..."

Connie heard a door open and quickly turned to the railing, trying not to stand out. Mr. Sun walked by, whistling to himself as he headed down the deck. She didn't move until she was sure he was gone.

"I've got to warn someone..."

* * *

Steven, Greg and the Gems were standing on the promenade deck, watching as the dock slowly began to slip away. The ship's horn sounded, a low bass that shook the world around and made Steven's ears ring. Next to him, much to Pearl's annoyance, Amethyst was making faces in the direction of the many news cameras focused on the ship.

"Well, this is it!" said Greg, "Nothing but sea breeze and relaxation for ten days!"

"You just jinxed it, Greg," said Amethyst.

"Yeah," sighed Greg, "I probably did."

"Hey Lazuli!" exclaimed Peridot, elbowing her barn-mate, "Wave to the people."

Lapis smiled.

"No, I'd rather not."

Garnet leaned over the side, looking down into the crowd passing by. She sighted Mr. Sun standing next to the back of an expensive car, talking animatedly on his phone. Behind her visor, she narrowed her eyes.

"Steven! Garnet!"

Connie ran up, skidding to a halt in front of Garnet. Steven didn't hear her as he was talking to Greg, but Garnet did.

"Connie," she nodded.

"We need to talk! It's Mr. Sun, I think..."

Garnet put a hand on Connie's shoulder.

"Tell me in the cabin after we leave," she said, "We don't want to cause a panic."

Connie opened her mouth to reply - she swallowed it down and nodded.

"Right," she said, "No panic."

She and Garnet watched the dock disappear behind the ship. Mr. Sun hung up his phone and made to get into his car.

He turned his back on the ship and disappeared.

* * *

AN: I'm sure Mr. Sun is just an honest businessman who wants to make sure his ship gets back safely. _I'm sure._


	4. Chapter Three

Much ado about ships.

* * *

 **Three**

The ship sailed towards the setting sun, leaving the coast far behind her. Garnet and Pearl stood up near the bow, looking out at the sunset. The sea breeze blew by them, and Pearl inhaled deeply.

"It's nice to get away from it all for a while," she said, "Especially after everything that's been going on."

Her face fell.

"Although I can't help but worry about this business with Mr. Sun," she added, "Do you think Connie's right? Is he really planning something?"

"It's possible," mused Garnet, "We need to keep an eye on the man he was talking to. The Third Officer."

"But we don't know who that was," reminded Pearl, "How're we supposed to-"

"There."

Garnet pointed to an officer - a tall, blonde man with a full beard - who was standing at the bow and looking through some binoculars.

"The third officer," said Garnet, "He's the one we have to watch."

"Could you tell that with your future vision?" asked Pearl.

"No," replied Garnet, "It says 'Third Officer' on his shoulder."

The Third Officer turned, noticing the Gems staring at him.

"Is there a problem?" he called.

"Everything's fine, thank you!" Pearl called back.

She and Garnet turned back around, looking out to sea.

"So, we have to make sure he doesn't do anything to jeopardise the ship," said Pearl, "Do you reckon that'll be hard."

There was a brief pause.

"Nah," said Garnet.

* * *

Early on the first morning of the voyage, Steven found Lars dry-heaving over the railing, his face very green.

"Good morning Lars!" he said brightly.

"Ugh... _Steven..._ " groaned Lars.

"Whatcha looking for?" asked Steven, looking over the side.

Lars made a long, gurgling moan. Steven furrowed his brow and put a hand on Lars' back.

"Are you okay, Lars?" he asked.

"Hi Steven!"

Sadie walked up to them, leaning against the rail as she reached them.

"Oh, hi Sadie!" greeted Steven, "What's up with Lars?"

"He gets seasick," replied Sadie, "Although I think he's overplaying it a little."

"Ugh...Sadie, I think I'm dying..."

"Oh, you'll be fine," shrugged Sadie, "Anyway, they're doing omelettes up at the grill for breakfast. I was just gonna go and get some..."

"I'll take two," muttered Lars.

"Lars, are you sure it's a good idea to have eggs when you're sick?" asked Steven.

"It's... _worth it_..."

Sadie rolled her eyes.

* * *

It was not, in fact, worth it. Lars had managed less than half an omelette before racing back to his cabin, his face a deathly pale. Sadie had followed as soon as she was finished, leaving Steven alone.

He was just walking down to his cabin when he found Lapis at the front-port corner of the Promenade Deck, looking out to sea.

"Lapis!"

Lapis turned, noticing Steven walking up to her.

"Oh, hey Steven," she said, waving.

"What're you doing?" asked Steven.

Lapis looked out to sea again.

"I'm just trying to get comfortable with the ocean again," she replied, "It still makes me a little nervous. I mean, it's stupid but..."

"It's not stupid at all," replied Steven.

Lapis gave Steven a small smile. Then she snorted.

"A Lapis Lazuli that's uncomfortable with water," she scoffed, "They'd never accept _that_ on Homeworld."

"They don't accept a lot of things on Homeworld, do they?" said Steven.

"Nope," nodded Lapis.

There was a long silence.

"The Diamonds _suck_ ," Lapis said suddenly.

Steven glanced up at his friend in surprise. Lapis smirked, and they immediately broke into laughter.

"What's so funny? I don't get it."

Steven and Lapis turned around. First Officer Martin Stokes had walked up behind them. He looked decidedly confused.

Steven and Lapis laughed again and walked away.

Martin blinked and took out his radio.

"Fred, it's Martin. I think I've been insulted."

" _Just get back to work, Martin._ "

* * *

Late that night, a few cabins away from Steven, Buck Dewey and Sour Cream lay in their room, looking up at the ceiling.

"Hey, Sour Cream," said Buck, "Why is everyone in your family named after food?"

Sour Cream shrugged.

"Eh, it's a lifestyle thing," he replied, "You know, like how everyone in the Fryman family has French Fry hair."

"Wow," said Buck, "I've never realised that."

"It takes a while to notice," nodded Sour Cream.

* * *

At about midday on the second day, Captain Student sat in the wheelhouse, looking out the window as he ate a sandwich for lunch.

"We have a grill and at least four restaurants and you still packed lunches?" asked Martin, standing by the wheel next to the helmsman.

"They don't do tuna and mayonnaise," shrugged Captain Student.

"Oh, they don't do tuna and mayonnaise," repeated Martin sarcastically, "Truly you have to pack your own, the alternative would be starvation! You have a king's ransom of food, Fred! Why have something so..."

"I _like_ tuna sandwiches, Martin," replied Captain Student, "And I want to _eat_ tuna sandwiches. Now get over yourself..."

"Third Officer on deck!"

Student got up as the Third Officer, Malcolm Todd, walked into the wheelhouse.

"Ah, Mr. Todd," nodded Captain Student, "I need you to check on the officers. We're going to be using the ballroom tonight and..."

"We're having a ball?" demanded Martin, "Geez, Fred, when exactly were you going to tell me this?"

"It's not really a ball, more like a generic dance thing," shrugged Captain Student, "If we called it a ball, we'd upset the ball purists-"

" _Ball purists?!_ " demanded Martin, "What, so there are people who are going to attend this so-called 'generic dance thing', decide it's slightly not ball-y enough for them and sue the company? No, they're not, because that doesn't happen, Fred. _It doesn't happen._ "

Captain Student sighed.

"Do you enjoy this, Martin?" he asked.

"Yes, very much so."

Captain Student shook his head.

"In any case, I need you to make sure the crew are informed - all officers not on duty will be attending," he ordered, "Second Officer Emerson will take the bridge. Understood, Mr. Todd?"

"Aye Captain," nodded Todd, "I'll tell them about the ball."

He saluted and left the bridge. Captain Student pinched the bridge of his nose.

"It's going to be called a ball whether I want it to or not, isn't it Martin?"

Martin shrugged and nodded.

* * *

"A ball?" exclaimed Greg.

"Well, the Captain wants us to call it a 'dance', but for all intents and purposes, it's a ball, sir," replied the crewman at the cabin door, "Sorry for the lack of notice, but the Captain only scheduled it the day of the departure."

"No problem, man," shrugged Greg, "Well, see you around."

He closed the door and turned to Steven and Connie, who were playing checkers on the floor. Connie was winning - as she had done for the past three games.

"What do you think, you two up for this ball thing?" he asked, "I mean, I can break out the cherry sweater, I guess..."

"A ball?" exclaimed Steven.

"Well, he _says_ it's more of a dance, but..."

"Of course we're going!" said Steven, "We can bring the Gems and get all dressed up and dance and eat all the weird fancy stuff and pretend we like it..."

"Okay, calm down, Stu-ball," chuckled Greg, "What about you, Connie, you up for this?"

"Sure," nodded Connie, "I can keep an eye on that Third Officer! It'd be like a spy movie..."

"Great!" exclaimed Steven, "I'll tell the Gems! Be right back!"

He slipped past Greg and burst out the door.

"Well," chuckled Greg, "He's excited."

* * *

"Alright, Ms. Emerson, the bridge is yours."

Captain Student walked out of the bridge, followed closely by Martin. Todd trailed behind, glancing back at the Second Officer, who was looking out the window through her binoculars.

"Emerson," he hissed.

Emerson turned, lowering her binoculars.

"Problem, Malcolm?" she asked.

"We'll be at the island by midnight, won't we?" asked Todd.

"Yeah, of course we will," nodded Emerson, "Why?"

Todd furrowed his brow.

"Uh, no reason," he replied, "See you later, Em."

He walked out of the bridge. The ship sailed on.

* * *

AN: Mostly character stuff this chapter, but things are about to pick up...


	5. Chapter Four

In case it's not immediately obvious, I can't dance and I'm a hopeless romantic

* * *

 **Four**

Steven finished doing up the buttons of his pink shirt - the same that Connie had given him for his birthday - and looked in the mirror. He didn't look too fancy - no tailored tux this time - but he didn't really mind. He smiled and sat on his bed, slipping on some shoes that Pearl had packed him. Behind him, Greg stood by the door, adjusting the collar of his cherry sweater. Connie was standing by the wall, dressed in a sky-blue short-sleeved dress.

There was a knock on the door and Greg opened it.

"Alright, are you all ready to..." Greg trailed off.

The Crystal Gems had shifted into new outfits. Garnet had changed into a red tuxedo over a blue bowtie and white shirt - not unlike of the colours of Ruby and Sapphire. Pearl still wore the same colours, but in the form of a long, sleeveless dress with a yellow band at the waist. Amethyst - who did not look happy to have had to dress up at all - wore a shorter white dress over her usual attire, with her hair done up in a ponytail.

"Wow," nodded Greg, "Nice get up."

"Well, it _is_ a ball," replied Pearl, "I mean, I think Amethyst could've done a little more, but..."

Amethyst sighed heavily and rolled her eyes. Pearl dropped the subject.

"Well, we're ready," grunted Lapis as she and Peridot walked up to the door. Peridot had put on her bowtie - Lapis had made absolutely no effort to change her outfit whatsoever.

Pearl grimaced.

"Well...at least the bowtie's nice," she said at last.

Greg looked at his watch.

"We better get going," he said, "They start in fifteen minutes."

"Yeah," nodded Connie, "And I want to keep an eye on Third Officer Todd from the moment he arrives..."

Garnet extended her a thumbs up. Connie returned the gesture.

"Well, what're we waiting for?" asked Steven, "To the ball!"

* * *

The ballroom was busy but not packed. A few long tables of various refreshments had been set up on the left-hand side of the room - the right was reserved for dancing. At the top of the room was a brass band on a stage, which left a little space on the opposite end for mingling. One of the ship's officers stood by the door, greeting all who came in - Steven noticed that he was looking a bit tired, so he flashed him a smile. It didn't seem to improve his mood.

The group had split up after entering, and Steven and Greg had followed Amethyst to the food tables. A rich gentleman in a monocle was standing nearby, and nodded politely as they approached.

"Good evening!" he said, extending a hand towards Amethyst, "My name is Lord Sir Reginald Farthington Brooke-Caruthers of County Durham, and I'm dashed please to make your-"

"Can't talk, eating," interrupted Amethyst, grabbing a plate of oysters and walking off, swallowing them whole one-by-one.

The gentleman blinked, before shaking his head and turning to Greg.

"Anyway, I'm a member of the board of directors for the London and North Eastern Railway," he explained, "What exactly do you do, sir?"

"Name's Greg," said Greg, jovially, "I run a car wash!"

The gentleman nodded, turned on his heel and walked away.

"What, car washes not good enough for him?" asked Greg, elbowing his sun.

They chuckled, and Greg turned to a second plate of oysters.

"Wanna try one?" asked Steven.

"Sure, why not?" shrugged Greg.

They each grabbed an oyster and ate it. There was a long silence.

"...let's never do that again," said Steven, smiling somewhat blankly.

"Agreed," said Greg.

Not far away, Connie was walking discreetly through the crowd. She strode past Lapis, who had ended up in unwilling conversation with an oil prospector.

"Now, when y'all are lookin' for a good well, there's three main factors you've gotta consider," he said, "Now number one of those is to look fer oil spills, 'cause oil spills means there's oil, you hear..."

"I really don't care," replied Lapis.

"Now the second thing y'all gotta keep an eyeball on is the colouration of the rocks..."

Connie reached a jug of apple juice and poured it into a glass. She was about to head back the other way when she heard a familiar voice.

"...Captain, I really think you should do what Mr. Sun says."

"I won't hear it, Mr. Todd."

She glanced at the corner of the room. Captain Student and Third Officer Todd were conversing in hushed tones - the Captain looked increasingly angry.

"Mr. Sun wouldn't ask us to do this if he had any other choice, Captain," said Todd, "If we're to have a future we need to do this - we could all lose our jobs!"

"Better to lose my job than to be an accessory to fraud, Mr. Todd," snapped Captain Student, "I told Sun exactly what I thought of his plan and my answer hasn't changed. I'm staying out of this, and I recommend you do to."

"Stay out of it, Captain?" demanded Todd, "Is that what you're going to tell your family? You 'stayed out of it?'"

"Mr. Todd, the way I see it, one of two things can happen here," said the Captain, narrowing his eyes, "Either you drop this, right now, and we can pretend this conversation never happened, or you keep trying to change my mind and I offload you at the next port without pay. Now, are we going to be professionals?"

Todd opened his mouth to reply, but he clearly seemed to stop himself.

"I'm not backing out, Captain," he said.

"Then at least back out of my face," growled Captain Student, "Now, by all means, Mr. Todd, how about you mingle?"

He stormed away. Connie raised an eyebrow and began to creep back the way she had come.

Back on the other side of the ballroom, Steven was watching some of the richer passengers talking - or to put it more accurately, was listening to Peedee, Ronaldo and Kiki talk about watching the rich people.

"Do you think they actually like each other?" asked Kiki, "Or do they just use each other to get richer?"

"I guess they have to be friends with someone," shrugged Peedee, "They'd have to have friends, families..."

"I would think not, dear brother," said Ronaldo obnoxiously, raising his index finger, "I think you'll find that they're all members of the great alien conspiracy to control our civilization."

"Sneople, huh?" said Peedee, dryly.

"No, not Sneople," corrected Ronaldo, "These people are clearly disguised members of an ancient feline civilisation, which has guided human society since before the Ancient Egyptians!"

There was a long silence as Peedee and Kiki stared at Ronaldo.

"That's why they worshipped cats!" exclaimed Ronaldo, annoyed, "That explains the Sphinx! _Open your eyes!_ "

There was another long silence.

"... _cats_ ," said Kiki.

"You people just don't understand," grumbled Ronaldo, walking away.

"Steven!" Connie called, walking up to them.

"Connie, hey!" greeted Steven, "That apple juice?"

Connie smirked, raising the glass.

"Stirred," she said, "Not shaken."

" _Nice_ ," said Steven, clicking his fingers at her.

"Well, I'm gonna find Jenny," said Kiki, "See you guys later!"

"And I'm gonna make sure Ronaldo doesn't set the ship on fire again," added Peedee, "See you, Steven."

They bother walked away, leaving Steven and Connie alone.

"So Todd's definitely up to something," whispered Connie, "But he needs the Captain's help to do it, and he's holding out on him."

"So we don't have to worry!" said Steven brightly.

"Unless he tries to get rid of the Captain," replied Connie, furrowing her brow.

"Oh," nodded Steven, "That'd be pretty bad..."

"We have to make him slip up," said Connie, "Make the Captain throw him off the ship. If that happens, we're home free."

"When do we do that?" asked Steven.

"Tomorrow," replied Connie, "We do it tomorrow."

"Attention everybody, this is the Captain."

Steven and Connie turned to the stage. Captain Student and First Officer Stokes were standing in front of the band.

"Well, it's currently ten o'clock and..."

"It's seven past ten, Captain," interrupted Martin.

Captain Student visibly rolled his eyes.

"Alright, it's _seven past ten_ , and I'd say we have about an hour before we wrap this ball up," he said, "So I think we..."

"I thought you weren't calling it a ball, Fred," said Martin.

Captain Student shot him a very dirty look before continuing.

" _Anyway,_ " he said, "I think we ought to get some dancing done, eh? Who's up for some dancing?"

He raised his arm, a lopsided grin on his face. He was met with dead silence.

"You're talking to a bunch of rich people, Fred, not Wembley Stadium," reminded Martin, "And in any case, you're hardly someone like Est-"

" _Martin_ ," growled Captain Student.

Martin smirked but said no more.

"Um...so go ahead and dance, if you like," shrugged Captain Student, "Thank you."

He and Martin strode off stage. The band began to play again, much more slowly than they had been before.

Steven grinned and turned to Connie, offering his hand.

"May I haveth this dance, dear lady?" he asked in a faux-British accent.

"Why certainly, Mr. Universe," replied Connie, grinning as she put on her own accent.

They giggled and made their way over to the dance floor.

Not far away, Greg and the Gems were watching as more and more people headed over to the floor. The oil prospector was still talking about his passion for oil to Lapis, but she was now simply ignoring him.

"I keep feeling like I'm not fancy enough for this," mused Greg, "I mean, this is a _waltz_..."

"Oh, come on," said Pearl, brightly, "You just need to get into the swing of things!"

"...did you just make a pun?" asked Greg, confused.

"Come on, I'll show you," grinned Pearl, grabbing Greg by the arm. Greg yelped as he was pulled onto the floor.

"Still feels weird to see those two getting on," noted Amethyst.

"That's the power of Steven," shrugged Garnet.

"So, you gonna dance?" asked Amethyst.

"Hold on," replied Garnet.

She suddenly glowed white and split into Ruby and Sapphire.

" _Now_ we are," nodded Sapphire.

"Look after Peridot for us, we'll be back in an hour," said Ruby, waving as they headed for the floor.

"Hey!" growled Peridot.

The oil prospector glanced down at his drink, his eyes wide.

"What in tarnation is in this coffee?" he asked himself, shaking his head as he walked away. Lapis silently punched the air as he did.

"Well, I'm gonna dance for a bit," shrugged Lapis, "See you later."

She walked off to the floor, leaving Peridot and Amethyst alone.

"Heh, look at them all," chuckled Peridot, " _Waltzing_. What even is that? They're just swaying back and forth! Glad we don't have to-"

"You wanna give it a shot, Peri?" asked Amethyst.

Peridot squealed and jumped.

"Okay, sure, that's fine," nodded Amethyst, "I..."

"No, no, I'm fine, I just..."

Peridot glanced towards the dance floor. She began to sweat.

"...ooh, that's a lot of people."

"Just follow my lead, man," said Amethyst, "You'll be fine."

"I...okay, I can do it," nodded Peridot, "Sure, yeah, I can do this! It'll be easy! I- _aah!_ "

Amethyst began to pull her towards the floor. Her eyes darted from person to person, and she began to feel very enclosed. She clenched her free hand.

Amethyst stopped near the middle of the floor and turned to her. Peridot stepped back a little and ran into the back of a woman - she glared at her and moved away. Peridot swallowed.

Her eyes darted around. About half of the room wasn't dancing. They were watching the people on the floor, and while part of Peridot's brain told her they weren't looking at her specifically, it felt like they were staring into her very being. The music seemed to be dragged out by a hundred voices that weren't there, and she felt very cold.

"Okay Peri," said Amethyst, "You ready?"

Peridot looked Amethyst in the eyes. An alarm in her head went off.

She let out a high-pitched 'eep' and bolted.

Amethyst stared at the slowly closing door, a concerned expression on her face. Farthington walked up behind her, nose up-turned.

" _Clearly_ ," he said snootily, "That woman simply isn't fit for our kind of society..."

"Don't you have better things to do?" demanded Amethyst.

"No, I'm just rather a petty person."

* * *

The _Discovery_ sailed through the night, and with the ball just about wrapped up, the decks were quiet. Like a great floating city on which no people could be seen, she floated through darkness under endless stars above.

Amethyst walked along the A Deck - the deck on top of the hull - towards the bow, looking around for Peridot. She hadn't seen her since she left the ball, and she was starting to get worried.

"Peri?" she called, stepping out onto the bow of the ship, "Are you out here?"

She heard a voice cut through the silence.

"I'm fine, just...just go away!"

Amethyst followed the sound of the voice to a small wall, just beyond the start of the open bow. She found Peridot crouched behind it, curled into a ball with her head in her arms. Her bowtie lay discarded next to her.

"You're _not_ fine," replied Amethyst, walking up to her, "What happened back there?"

"I...I decided I didn't feel like doing the waltzing," replied Peridot, "Because it's stupid and it makes no sense. And now I just wanna sit here and stare at the floor all night."

"Peridot, you panicked," said Amethyst.

"No, I didn't," growled Peridot.

"Come on, man," said Amethyst, "Tell me what-"

" _I said leave me alone!_ " shouted Peridot, looking up.

Amethyst recoiled, taken aback. Peridot's eyes were red and wet around the edges, and it struck her that she'd never really seen her friend cry before.

"Peridot..."

Peridot swallowed and sat back against the wall.

"I couldn't do it," she sighed, "I wanted to, but I saw all those people watching me, waiting for me to slip up. It was... _unsettling_."

"They weren't watching you, man," said Amethyst.

"It _felt_ like it," muttered Peridot.

Amethyst stepped over, holding out a hand to Peridot.

"Well," she said, "Nobody's watching now."

Peridot looked up into Amethyst's eyes.

"You want to...do _waltz?_ " she asked, incredulously.

"Nah, nothing that fancy," shrugged Amethyst, "Just dance."

Peridot swallowed again and took Amethyst's hand. She helped her to her feet, taking the other as she did so.

"Okay, let's start you off easy," said Amethyst, "Just follow my lead..."

She pulled her left foot back, and Peridot nervously put her right foot forward. Amethyst followed with her right, her hands pulling Peridot forward as she put her left foot forward. Then it was Peridot's turn to step back. The whole time, Peridot looked Amethyst in the eyes, almost afraid of breaking contact.

After a while, as they got into a rhythm, Peridot began to feel very conscious of this.

"Um...should I stop looking into your eyes now?" she asked, "I mean, it's probably unsettling and-"

"Do you want to?" asked Amethyst.

"...no," replied Peridot.

As midnight approached, the two gems danced on the deck, the stars shining above.

* * *

Captain Student looked down at the two Gems from the bridge, a small smile on his face. Behind him, Martin was relieving Emerson for the night, and Todd was looking out the port windows through his binoculars.

"You know," he said, "Nights like this remind me of _Titanic_."

"As I recall," noted Martin, "The captain dies in that film."

"So does the First Officer," replied Captain Student.

Emerson snorted as she left the bridge. Martin shook his head.

"Alright," said Captain Student, "You're on night watch, Martin. We'll head to about five hundred yards off the island and anchor for the night. You good to do that?"

"Yes, Fred," nodded Martin, "I'm happy to anchor dangerously close to an island that's believed to be cursed. Nothing would make me feel better."

"People have stopped near the island before," reminded Captain Student, "You just can't _land_ on it. We'll be fine."

"I'll hold you to that," muttered Martin.

"Well, we'll leave you to it," nodded Captain Student, "Mr. Todd, you're dismissed."

"Captain," said Todd, his voice sounding a little shaky, "Um...you should see this."

"What is it, Mr. Todd?" asked Captain Student, "Is it another ship?"

Todd wordlessly handed him the binoculars. Captain Student immediately raised them and gazed into the distance.

"What's he seen?" asked Martin, "Most likely just another ship, I'd say. _Again._ I mean, it's not like we have to worry about pirates in these waters..."

"I need to concentrate, Mr. Stokes," said Captain Student.

The use of his surname shut Martin up immediately.

There was a long and palpable silence before Captain Student lowered his binoculars. His face was a deathly pale.

"It can't be..." he whispered.

"It must be, sir," replied Todd, "There's nothing else it could be."

"What is it?" demanded Martin, marching over to the other side of the bridge.

He gazed into the darkness and caught sight of a small, long line forming on the horizon. It seemed to be getting thicker and thicker.

"I-is that..." he stammered.

The Captain nodded.

" _Rogue wave._ "

* * *

AN: So we can add _The Posiedon Adventure_ to the list of things I ripped o-I mean I took inspiration from for this story.


	6. Chapter Five

In which bad things happen.

* * *

 **Five**

"Hard a port, we'll take it on the bow!"

"You heard the man, port, forty degrees!"

The helmsman turned the wheel hard to the left, gritting his teeth as he did so. The Captain strode to the front of the bridge, staring down the rogue wave, which was getting bigger and bigger.

"Full steam ahead, Mr. Stokes!" he barked.

Martin nodded, pushing the lever to full speed.

"Sir, shouldn't we be turning _away_ from the wave?" demanded Todd.

"No," replied Captain Student, "We can't outrun that thing, the best we can do is summit it before it crests. Mr. Stokes, sound the whistle."

"What?" demanded Martin, "Do you think it's going to get out of the way for us?"

"I need the crew's attention, Mr. Stokes!" barked Captain Student.

"Oh, right, yeah," nodded Martin.

He pulled the cord and the horn sounded in a long and loud burst.

* * *

Peridot jumped at the sound of the horn, almost falling over. She clutched the side of her head.

"Ow! What did they do that for?" she demanded.

Amethyst glanced towards the front of the ship. In the distance, rising in the distance over the railing of the ship, was the wave.

"Peri," she said, "I think we need to get inside."

" _Attention all passengers and crew, this is the Captain_ ," the loudspeaker sounded, " _Rough seas are expected imminently. Please return to your cabins immediately. All crew, man your stations._ "

"We're on a ship, right?" asked Peridot, "It's supposed to stay afloat, isn't it?"

"That's not gonna matter if we get washed overboard," reminded Amethyst.

"Point noted," agreed Peridot, "Let's head back."

They turned around.

"Is that normal?" asked Peridot, pointing towards the stern of the ship.

Behind the _Discovery_ , a second wave was hurtling towards them.

* * *

"You're kidding, right?! ...yes, alright, I'll tell him."

Todd hung up a phone he was using to communicate with the rest of the crew.

"Second Officer Emerson reports second wave, sir!" he shouted.

"Behind the first?" demanded Captain Student, looking towards the oncoming wave, "I'm not seeing it, Mr. Todd..."

"No sir," replied Todd, "It's to the stern, sir."

"That's impossible!" exclaimed Martin.

"That's what she's seen, sir," shrugged Todd.

Captain Student gritted his teeth, looking towards the bow wave.

"Mr. Stokes, how big do you estimate that is?" he asked.

"Forty feet and rising, sir," replied Martin.

Captain Student grabbed the phone from Todd, raising it to his ear.

"Ms. Emerson, get all crew inside the ship and secure the doors!" he barked.

He hung up without wait for a reply and gazed towards the wave once more.

"If they both hit us..." he muttered.

* * *

" _This is the Captain speaking. All hands are requested to brace for impact._ "

The ship seemed to angle, almost as if it was going uphill, as Amethyst and Peridot reached the nearest door into the A Deck. A nervous junior officer was just about to shut it - he looked up at them as they approached.

"Hold the door!" called Amethyst.

The officer gazed up at the oncoming wave. He shook his head, his hands shaking.

"Not a chance, you're on your own!" exclaimed the officer, slamming the door shut.

Amethyst skidded to a halt in front of the door, just in time to hear it being locked from the other side. She cursed and slammed a fist on the door.

"Argh! You'd better hope we don't find you again!" she bellowed.

"What do we do now?" demanded Peridot.

Amethyst looked over to the stairs up to the Main Deck.

"Up there, now!" she yelled, dragging Peridot towards them.

* * *

The Captain clutched the rail as the ship's angle became steeper. Behind him, Martin shouted orders into the phone to the radio operators, telling them to send out a distress call. Captain Student gripped the rail as he began to see white water at the top of the front wave.

"We're not going to make it," he said.

"Captain, what do we do?" Todd asked frantically.

"Brace!" bellowed Captain Student, " _Brace!_ "

* * *

The doors into the Main Deck were firmly secured, and Amethyst and Peridot were running out of time. They raced down the side of the deck, looking for some way to get in.

"Oh my gosh we're doomed we're doomed we're so doomed," said Peridot, a terrified expression on her face.

"Come on, there's gotta be something!" said Amethyst, looking around for any opening.

Then, just behind them, a window opened. They turned around, seeing Peedee leaning out.

"Come on, you can get in here!" he called.

"Thank the stars!" said Peridot in relief as they doubled back. Peridot almost tripped over on the way - the deck was getting steeped and steeper.

Peedee held out his hand for Peridot, heaving hard as he pulled her through the window. She landed with a thud on the other side, shaking her head and getting up to help Amethyst inside.

Amethyst suddenly glowed, turning herself into a smaller ball. She launched herself into the room, knocking both Peridot and Peedee over in the process. Peridot yelped as she crashed against the wall.

"Sorry," said Amethyst as she shifted into her normal form, "It was quicker."

She turned and slammed the window shut, locking it.

"Yes!" exclaimed Peridot, "Out of the frying pan!"

"Yeah," nodded Peedee, gazing out the window, "And into the fire."

Through the window, they could see that the ship was now climbing the side of the front wave - and it was clear that it wouldn't make the top before it crested.

* * *

The _Discovery_ had done all it could to pass over the wave before it was too late, but it hadn't been enough. The force of the rogue wave was now pushing the bow upwards, tipping the ship into a vertical position. This was perilous enough, but the second wave, which was even larger than the first, was beginning to loom over the ship, about to come crashing down.

If anybody had been able to pay attention to it, they may have seen a transparent red screen appear around the superstructure of the ship, encasing it like a form of plastic wrap. It was only visible for a second or two before fading away.

A moment later, both waves - together creating the force and mass of a large fishing boat, came down on top of the _Discovery_.

* * *

The ship almost seemed to do a cartwheel.

Steven, who had braced on his bed, was flung into the air, flying straight into Connie and then straight into the wall. Greg fell next to him, and he immediately pulled him in close and created a bubble shield.

As the bubble bounced around the room, Steven heard Greg cry out.

"That's it!" he declared, "I'm done with boats!"

* * *

As the second wave came down, the ship was pushed to the right. This had the advantage of stopping her from capsizing, but that was at the cost of pushing the hull underwater and submerging the ship. It began to roll down, deeper and deeper into the dark abyss of the sea. It was almost as if a great invisible hand was pulling her to the bottom.

Captain Student clutched the rail hard, having been thrown around terribly during the impact of the waves. He was badly bruised and his hat was gone - he could see the light above him flickering.

Below decks, there was a loud crash as the electric generators failed one by one. The ship was plunged into darkness. Captain Student couldn't see a thing, and he realised his lips were very dry. Internally, he noted the irony.

Half-a-minute later, there was a mighty crash. The _Discovery_ settled on the sea floor, angled to her starboard side.

Captain Student shook his head, reaching blindly around for a torch. He found one lying on the floor and switched it on, climbing to his feet and looking around.

Martin was checking a few bruises on his arms, but he seemed mostly fine. Todd was in worse shape - his lip was bleeding and he definitely had a black eye. The helmsman lay on the floor, moaning as he clutched his elbow.

"Helmsman, you alright?" asked Captain Student.

"I...argh...I think it's broken, sir," he replied, as calmly as was possible given the circumstances.

"Mr. Todd, get him to sick bay," ordered Captain Student, "Mr. Stokes, with me."

Todd nodded and helped the helmsman to his feet, grabbing his own torch and leading him to the stairs. Captain Student and Martin looked towards the windows, gazing into the ink-black sea that had consumed them.

"Well, at least the windows haven't broken," shrugged Captain Student.

"Lucky us," said Martin sarcastically.

"We need to gather the officers and send out a distress call, hope we can get a submarine on the line or something," said Captain Student, "It's a long shot, but it's better than nothing. Keep us busy, you know?"

Martin nodded.

"Alright, let's get down to-"

Suddenly, a teal light filled the bridge. Captain Student and Martin looked back out the window. They gaped as a flotilla of lights slid across the sea-floor towards them.

* * *

Amethyst, Peridot and Peedee gazed out the window as the line of lights came closer. They were attached to strange, circular vessels painted in red and silver. A small diamond-shaped window was position on the top of the front of the vessels, but they couldn't see anything in them. There was a small circular device on the top that looked like a radar dish.

"What are those?" asked Amethyst.

"They're familiar, but not the same..." muttered Peridot.

"Not the same as what?" quizzed Peedee.

"Mk. II Hazardous Exploration Vessels," replied Peridot, "Homeworld uses them to explore gas giants or planets with unusual atmospheres. They used some in the Rebellion, I think."

"So they're like submarines or something?" said Peedee.

"These ones are different," added Peridot, "They look slightly out-of-pattern. There's some illegal mortifications - that device on top shouldn't be there."

As she said that, the dish on one of the submarines raised up by about a meter. The ship's PA suddenly turned on and they heard an unfamiliar voice.

"Attention crew of the human ship _Discovery_ ," it barked, "This is Topaz, lieutenant of Supreme Leader Red Beryl and the Colony of Providence. We request permission to come aboard."

"That doesn't sound good," muttered Amethyst.

The bathroom door suddenly flung open. Ronaldo stepped out, doing up his fly - he was a bit bruised but none the worse for wear.

"Wow!" he said, "This chapter of _Nautical Vehicle Females_ really sucks you into the action! It felt like the ship was sinking!"

Peedee buried his head in his hands.

* * *

AN: Oh, Ronaldo! *laugh track*


	7. Chapter Six

Under the sea  
Under the sea  
It's dark and scary  
Things are quite hairy  
Under the sea

Guest review replies;

 **SilverG:** This is indeed a concerning situation. Thanks for reading!

* * *

 **Six**

"Captain on deck!"

Steven watched as the Captain walked into the ballroom, where some of the crew and many of the passengers had gathered. The Second Officer followed close behind, gazing anxiously at the windows. The room was lit by the teal light of the submarines, and it had become very cold - the heating had stopped working with the electricity.

As soon as the Captain had entered, there were loud demands for him to answer questions.

"Captain, I demand you tell me why you were incompetent enough to let the ship sink!" bellowed Farthington.

"Is anybody coming to save us?" shouted Lars, "Or are we all gonna die?!"

"An oil-firin' vessel would have had the power to crest that wave, sir, I warned Fabien Sun this would happen!" cried the prospector.

"That guy locked us out of the ship!" growled Amethyst, pointing at a somewhat sheepish-looking junior officer.

" _Quiet!_ " thundered Captain Student.

The ballroom fell very silent.

"We're not going to die," said Captain Student, "As we speak, power is being restored to our communications room, and we will be sending out distress calls shortly. This was a freak wave that would have sunk any ship, the crew and the engineers are not responsible. Farthington...just shut up, let me do my job."

He turned to the junior officer, who for a moment seemed to have thought he was off the hook.

" _Fourth Officer Jackson_ ," he said, his tone very firm, " _Explain_."

"I...uh...I thought there wasn't time, sir," stammered Jackson.

Captain Student nodded.

"Mr. Rollins," he said, turning to a larger-built officer nearby, "You are now Fourth Officer. Mr. Jackson, you will take over Mr. Rollins' duties as Fifth Officer and your wages will be altered correspondingly. Consider yourself _very_ lucky that I need all hands right now."

"But...but my kids..." protested Jackson.

"You don't have kids, Jackson," replied Martin.

There was a bit of nervous laughter as Jackson stared at his feet, face red.

Nervously, Steven stepped forward.

"Uh, Captain?" he asked, "Are you gonna reply to the Gems outside?"

"So far we haven't been able to reply to them, as we have no power for the radios," Captain Student replied, "In any case, contacting them might endanger the ship..."

"...because _that_ certainly hasn't happened yet," muttered Martin.

"... _more than it is already endangered_ ," elaborated Captain Student, "We need to play this as cautiously as possible. The wrong move could be catastrophic."

"But what else can we do?" demanded Steven, "We're stuck at the bottom of the ocean!"

"We're weighing up our options and we'll let you know as soon as..."

"Sir!"

Second Officer Emerson pointed to the centre of the ballroom. A small red holographic ball had appeared, floating above the floor. It began to speak, flashing as it did so.

" _Who is your leader?_ "

Captain Student stepped forward. Steven made to step up too, but was stopped by Garnet's hand on his shoulder.

"I am Captain Fred Student of the RMS _Discovery_ ," said Captain Student, "I am in command."

The ball began to expand, morphing into a humanoid form.

The figure was clearly a Gem - this was evident by the round gem in place of her left eye, a look that reminded Steven distinctly of Eyeball. She was about as tall as Pearl, and her hair was styled in an almost punkish look - the left side down over the side of her face, the right side puffed upwards (although there was just enough hair on the left to obscure her ear, something that seemed to be ubiquitous among Gems). She wore what looked like a tunic, with a belt over the waist and the right shoulder, and tight trousers. Her shoulders were covered by identical plain pauldrons.

" _My name is Topaz,_ " replied Topaz, " _Facet 1E7A, Cut-1OP. I've been ordered to recover your ship's crew and..._ "

She trailed off, leaning over to look past the Captain. All eyes fell on the object of her gaze - Lapis Lazuli.

" _A Lapis Lazuli?!_ " exclaimed Topaz, " _Oh my stars I didn't realise- I apologise, ma'am, I should have addressed you first. Oh, Red Beryl's gonna be so upset..._ "

"Uh...hi?" replied Lapis, waving awkwardly.

" _Oh, we need to do this properly,_ " groaned Topaz, rubbing her forehead, " _You'll need to meet Red Beryl as soon as possible. We need to know what's become of Homeworld. Ma'am, can you gather your entourage and come with us?_ "

"My... _entourage?_ " quizzed Lapis.

" _Well, this is your ship, isn't it?_ " asked Topaz, " _Surely you have servants? Companions?_ "

"Uh...sure she does!" exclaimed Steven, running up beside Lapis, "I-I'm her serving boy!"

"Steven?" asked Lapis.

"Maybe we can get them to help us," whispered Steven.

Lapis nodded.

"Right, yeah, he's my serving boy, Steven," nodded Lapis, "And, uh..."

"I'm her Pearl!" said Pearl, sliding up to her.

"I'm her bodyguard," added Garnet, punching her fists together.

"I'm her scholar!" said Connie, stepping up as well.

"And...I'm court bard!" said Greg, walking up with his guitar.

" _Excellent!_ " exclaimed Topaz, " _Wait right there, I'll get a craft to you._ _Um...you might wanna stand back._ "

She turned back into a holographic ball, which began to pulse. Everybody stepped back.

"Why don't I get to be part of the 'entourage?'" Amethyst demanded.

"Somebody needs to guard the ship," replied Garnet.

"Plus they won't like that you're smaller than average," added Pearl, somewhat tactlessly.

Garnet glared at her.

"Yeah, fine, I get it," grumbled Amethyst, rolling her eyes.

The ball of light suddenly seemed to burst, a bright light filling the room. When the flash cleared, one of the Gem submarines was floating before them. At the back, a door fell open, and Topaz emerged - her colours were primarily white, although her tunic was red and her pants and belts were white.

"Alright, hop in," said Topaz, "Oh, and we'll need to bring the Captain along."

Captain Student nodded, turning to Martin and Second Officer Emerson.

"Mr. Stokes, with me," he ordered, "Ms. Emerson, the ship is yours until I get back."

Emerson saluted as Martin stepped forward.

"Keep an eye on things," said Garnet, putting a hand on Amethyst's shoulder, "Good luck."

Amethyst nodded as Garnet left for the submarine.

The inside of the submarine was a little bigger than the outside, but it was still small and claustrophobic. The cockpit was closed off, so they couldn't see who was piloting the vessel - it was lit by dull yellow lights, situated over rows of seats on either side.

"Geez, it's not exactly the Ritz," muttered Greg, sitting down next to Steven.

"Trust me, sir," shrugged Captain Student, "I was in the Navy for a few years when I was younger. This is much more comfortable than our submarines."

"Sailing in a garbage bin would be more comfortable than a Royal Navy submarine," muttered Martin.

"I apologise for the lack of comfort," said Topaz, "We weren't expecting any V.I.G.s today."

"I'm used to it," shrugged Lapis.

The door closed behind them, further reducing the amount of light.

" _Phasing out of human vessel now,_ " the pilot (who sounded like a Ruby) declared, " _ETA to Providence three minutes._ "

"Providence?" quizzed Garnet.

"The Colony of Providence," replied Topaz, "It's named after the ship we came to earth aboard - the Andromeda-class liner _Providence._ "

"The _Providence_?" demanded Pearl, "But that ship went missing thousands of years ago!"

"Do you usually let your Pearl speak so...freely, ma'am?" asked Topaz.

Lapis shrugged as Pearl tried not to clench her fists.

"The survivors of the _Providence_ formed our city after we realised we couldn't contact the Diamond Authority and request evacuation," continued Topaz, "It's grown into a very prosperous community, if I do say so myself."

"Why didn't you try to contact the human world?" asked Connie.

Topaz stared at her for a few seconds, before bursting into laughter.

" _You?_ " she demanded, "You people don't even have _cold fusion!_ You think _you_ could get us to space? That's _hilarious!_ "

"Hey, we got to the moon!" retorted Steven.

Topaz snorted. "Next you'll tell me you've developed an instantaneous communications network!"

"You mean the Inter..." began Martin.

" _Attention all passengers, we are on final approach to Providence. Activating holographic display now._ "

The walls of the craft seemed almost to disappear. Steven's jaw dropped.

Ahead was the side of the island - or more accurately, the base of the volcano. Throughout the rock face, dozens and dozens of glass tunnels and windows had been built, but more impressive were the large and ornate buildings around them. They looked like futuristic cathedrals and skyscrapers, almost art-deco in styling, with hundreds of tunnels connecting them. The craft turned towards the largest building in this underwater city - a massive, domed spire, painted red and silver. At the top of this cone was a giant point, each side decorated with the four diamonds that represented the Great Diamond Authority before the Rebellion.

"That," said Topaz, "Is the centre of Providence - Red Beryl's Tower. You're going to be the first outsiders ever to get a direct audience with her, ma'am."

"Oh, that's sounds...good," said Lapis, hesitantly.

Greg furrowed his brow and leaned closer to his son.

"I got a bad feeling about this, kiddo," he whispered.

Steven nodded, swallowing. He grabbed Connie's hand for support as he gazed at the approaching tower, fear flowing through him.

* * *

Malcolm Todd gazed out the window of the ballroom - the submarines outside almost seemed to stare back at him. Next to him, the newly-anointed Fourth Officer Zachary Rollins watched them through binoculars - he shook his head and lowered them.

"Scary, isn't it?" he said, "Knowing we're not even alone on Earth, never mind the universe."

"That's not what I'm most afraid of right now, Rollins," replied Todd, "We can't last down here forever. Unless they do something..."

"Oh, they'll do something, Mr. Todd," said Rollins, "And that scares me even more."

He walked away, shaking his head.

Todd sighed, walking over to a chair lying on the floor. He put it upright and sat on it, taking off his hat and wiping his brow. He could still see the windows from here - the lights of the submarines felt as though they were penetrating deep into his soul.

Not for the first time, he deeply regretted ever shaking Fabien Sun's hand.

* * *

AN: It's Gem Bikini Bottom!


	8. Chapter Seven

More Gems!

Guest review replies;

 **SilverG:** You'll have to wait and see. :) Thanks for reading!

* * *

 **Seven**

The submarine had docked alongside Red Beryl's Tower, and its passengers had alighted into the atrium of the building. It was a massive, gleaming marble room, enclosed by enormous windows that looked out into the surrounding ocean. Four great fountains stood in the corners of the room, each topped with a massive statue of a Diamond - Steven shuddered as he looked up at Pink Diamond and clutched his stomach.

At the end of the atrium was a desk, not unlike that of a corporate secretary. A red Gem sat behind the desk, hunched over a holographic pad.

Topaz strolled right up to the counter, leaning over it when she arrived.

"I need to see Red Beryl immediately."

The Gem looked up. Steven gasped.

"It's another Pearl!" he whispered.

Like Pearl and her yellow counterpart, Red Pearl's hair was styled towards a single spike - hers was at a higher angle than Pearl's but not quite as high as Yellow Pearl. She wore a light red visor that looked a bit like a pair of large, circular glasses. Her gem was at her neckline, and was partially covered by her long-sleeved dress. She smiled at Topaz, but it didn't extend to her eyes.

"I'm afraid Red Beryl is busy at the moment," she said, her voice quiet and somewhat meek, "She's speaking to..."

"I don't think I've been clear enough," interrupted Topaz, "I'm coming up. She knows I'm coming up. Let her know."

She strode straight past the desk towards an elevator. Lapis glanced at Red Pearl, who looked a little bit flustered.

"Thanks," she said, waving as she and the others followed Topaz to the elevator.

The elevator was large and had a glass wall at the end. Steven gazed out into the sea, watching distant schools of fish dart around the buildings. Topaz turned to Lapis as the elevator began to move.

"You shouldn't do that, ma'am," she said politely.

"Do what?" asked Lapis.

"Thank the Pearl," replied Topaz, "It's not a good idea to give them ideas, ma'am. They might end up like that renegade Pearl that rebelled with Rose Quartz."

Pearl clenched her fists. Steven grabbed one of her hands and allowed her to squeeze it.

"Not to be belligerent, ma'am," interjected Captain Student, "But I've always been told that you can tell somebody's character by how they treat the help, if you know what I mean..."

"Pearls aren't 'help', Captain," replied Topaz, "They're possessions."

She looked at Pearl, noticing that her free hand was clenched.

"You," she barked, "Enough. Loosen your-"

She stopped as Garnet put a hand firmly on her shoulder.

"She isn't your Pearl, Topaz," she said, her voice dangerously calm.

Topaz looked over to Lapis. She shrugged.

"Garnet's right," she said, matter-of-factly.

Topaz nodded, looking at her feet.

"Sorry, sorry," she said, "I got carried away there."

The elevator stopped. The conversation stopped with it.

* * *

Amethyst gazed out the window. The ominous shapes of the submarines still floated in the sea next to the _Discovery,_ their lights illuminating the ballroom. Peridot was sitting on the floor next to her, watching the other passengers in boredom.

There wasn't much happening. The Cool Kids and Kiki were standing in the corner, talking to each other to alleviate their anxieties. Lars was nearby - he was trying to look nonchalant but his sweating and occasional nervous shuddering was giving his fear away. He would occasionally send jealous glances towards Ronaldo, who was sitting with Sadie and Peedee as they too tried to distract themselves. Some of the richer passengers had rallied around Farthington and were making unreasonable demands of Emerson, who was doing her best to completely ignore them. The other officers were walking to and fro doing a variety of tasks.

"Why are they still here?" Amethyst asked.

"What do you mean?" replied Peridot.

"We can't exactly go anywhere," said Amethyst, "They already took everyone they needed. Why bother sticking around?"

"Maybe they're just keeping an eye on us?" said Peridot.

"Or they're not finished with us yet..."

There was a sudden thud. The lights came on - the sudden brightness caused Peridot to hiss and cover her eyes.

"Looks like the engineers have got the power going again," said Todd, looking at the ceiling.

"Mr. Todd, go down and tell them to restrict it to the ballroom and the bridge for now," ordered Emerson, "We can't waste energy."

Todd nodded and jogged out of the ballroom. Amethyst and Peridot watched him go.

"Do you think they're stopping us from running out of air?" asked Amethyst.

Peridot didn't reply.

* * *

Topaz led her guests through a long, ornate corridor. It was built from a shiny, silver marble, murals of the Diamonds and their accomplishments decorating every available surface.

"They're a modest lot, aren't they?" whispered Martin, looking at an image of White Diamond holding a solar system in her hand. Topaz didn't hear him.

"Martin!" hissed Captain Student, "Somebody might hear you!"

He looked around at the murals. His brow furrowed.

"But yes, they are... _modest_ ," he whispered very quietly.

Before long, they reached a giant red door with a small pad over the middle. Topaz stepped forward and held her hand over the pad. There was a quiet beep.

"Good, Blue Quartz must have finished," she said.

"You never mentioned a Blue Quartz," said Lapis.

"We're the only ones with access to Red Beryl," shrugged Topaz, "She couldn't have been talking to anybody else."

She shook her head.

"In any case," she said, "Presenting her eminence, Red Beryl."

The door opened. Steven gasped.

Red Beryl stood over a raised platform, staring out a giant window over the city of Providence. Her back was turned to her guests. She was tall - at least a head taller than Garnet - and wore a long, flowing gown with a thick corset and large puffs over the shoulder. Her clothing reminded Steven a little bit of Sapphire, except red and silver. Her hair looked a bit like what you might expect of eighteenth century royalty - puffy but impeccably styled, extending as far as the top third of her back and not an inch further. Steven's eyes were most drawn to the ornate gauntlets on the ends of her arms - they were gold (or perhaps brass), and the tips were decorated with the four diamonds that represented the Great Diamond Authority. Again, there were four fountains, one in each corner.

"Your eminence," said Topaz, "I have recovered the Captain of the human ship, but there is something you need to be made aware of."

"And that is?" demanded Red Beryl. Her voice was cold and filled with authority.

"There were Gems aboard, your eminence," replied Topaz, "A Lapis Lazuli and her entourage."

Red Beryl turned.

Her face was set into a frown, her brow furrowed and her mouth very thin. A golden amulet crowned her head. Cold, crimson eyes gazing unblinkingly down at her visitors. Like her Pearl, her Gem was at her neckline, half-covered by the cut of her dress.

"Interesting," she said, walking to the edge of her balcony. Steven swallowed she gazed at Lapis.

"I wasn't aware that Lapis Lazuli's had _entourages_ on Homeworld," she said.

"Things...things have changed," replied Lapis.

Red Beryl narrowed her eyes.

"Topaz," she said, "You can consider yourself lucky that Homeworld has performed the same social evolution on their Lapis Lazulis as we have. You have very narrowly avoided a _demerit_."

Topaz swallowed and bowed her head.

"My apologies, your eminence," she said, her voice cracking a little.

Red Beryl nodded.

"Lazuli," she said, "We will need to discuss the current state of the Homeworld as soon as possible. I will arrange a full meeting as soon as possible. In the mean time, perhaps you can explain the _humans_ among your party..."

"They're a serving boy, a scholar and..." began Topaz.

"I don't remember asking you," snapped Red Beryl.

Topaz looked down at her feet again, grinding her teeth. She looked emotionally drained.

"She's right," nodded Lapis, pointing to Steven, Connie and Greg in turn, "Serving boy, scholar and..."

"...bard," said Greg, helpfully.

"Yeah," said Lapis.

"A bard?" quizzed Red Beryl, "Why would you have a human as a bard?"

"Oh, I can show you!" replied Greg, taking his guitar from his back, "This one's called _Let Me Ride My_..."

"I don't care," interrupted Red Beryl, "You're a _taste_. What I really don't understand is the human scholar."

She suddenly stepped off the balcony, landing with a thud in front of Connie. She began to advance on her.

"A human," she repeated, "You could have any thinking Gem you wanted, and you chose a human. Soft. Petty. Unimaginative."

She towered over Connie, who winced.

"I can't imagine what forced you to take on such an uninspiring specimen," continued Red Beryl, "So ugly and small and unintelligent. Perhaps the glimmer of a Turquoise in the eyes, if something went utterly wrong with its Kindergarten. _Utterly worthless_."

Steven clenched his fist and grit his teeth. Garnet held onto his shoulder, squeezing it in an attempt to calm him.

"It's almost insulting that you would call this thing a scholar," said Red Beryl, "It's only good for menial labour. And it should be disposed of..."

She raised her fist, and Steven suddenly realised that the end of her gauntlet was sharpened. He help and tried to lunge forward as she began to punch.

There was a wet splat. Connie threw herself back.

Lapis stood in front of her, a shield of water stopping Red Beryl's fist.

"Don't you dare," she growled.

There was a long silence as she stared down the leader of Providence.

"No Gem," said Red Beryl, "Has defied me for five thousand years."

She allowed herself a hint of a smile.

"You must truly be nobility," she nodded, turning to Topaz, "Topaz! Take them to the state rooms, they can wait there until I can meet in detail. Leave the Captain and his officer with me."

"Yes, your eminence," said Topaz, crossing her arms over her chest in salute.

Red Beryl nodded and looked down at Connie, who was just getting to her feet. She sniffed.

"I suppose you're not the _worst_ choice for a scholar," she sniffed.

Connie tilted her head in mild bemusement, before following Topaz and the rest out of the room.

Captain Student adjusted his tie nervously as he and Martin were left alone. Red Beryl watched the door close and said nothing for a while - the Captain began to sweat.

"You," said Red Beryl, "Are going to tell me everything about the Earth as it currently stands. We haven't had a visitor since Captain Forrest, and I imagine much has changed."

"Oh, um, certainly," nodded Captain Student, "We'll get to work."

"You will," nodded Red Beryl, "And in the meantime, your crew will be processed."

"Processed?" demanded Captain Student.

"Yes," nodded Red Beryl, "They'll be brought to Providence as soon as possible. You'll be reunited with them when our interview is complete."

"So they won't be harmed?" nodded Captain Student.

"They will not be physically hurt," replied Red Beryl.

Captain Student breathed a sigh of relief. He never picked up the specific nature of Red Beryl's reply.

* * *

Emerson stood on the stage, looking over the ballroom. Most of the passengers and crew were here - Todd had gone down to speak to the engineers and a few people had returned to their cabins to collect possessions, but otherwise she could see everybody from her position.

Rollins climbed onto the stage. Emerson nodded.

"I sent one of the stewards off to First," he said, "A Ms. Sadie Miller needs her phone and I sent a party off to get it."

"Is she really going to get reception down here, Mr. Rollins?" asked Emerson.

"It's got a torch on it," replied Rollins, "It could be useful if the power fails again."

"Very well, Zach," nodded Emerson, "Find Jackson and tell him I need..."

She trailed off. All eyes suddenly turned to the windows as a strange melody filled the air.

The song was slow and melodic, like something in a music box. There was a strange droning note in the background, but mostly it was soft, inoffensive and repetitive. It seemed to be coming from the window - and the submarines.

"The heck is that?" asked Rollins.

"Don't know..."

Rollins scratched his head.

"Should we...should we try to contact them, ask them why they're doing this?" suggested Rollins.

Emerson didn't reply. She was finding it hard to articulate any words, and her thoughts were fuzzy and distant.

"Uh...Ms. Emerson...are you okay?" asked Rollins, "Ms...Ms. Emerson?"

Emerson closed her eyes, tuning Rollins out.

Her mind was swept away in the waves of the melody.

* * *

AN: I hate it when when people lie through omission.


	9. Chapter Eight

_ACTION._

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 **FlameRose:** Oh ho ho, it only gets worse from here. Thanks for reading!

 **SilverG:** Indeed-y. Thanks for reviewing!

* * *

 **Eight**

The good news was that the torch on Sadie's phone still worked. The bad news was that nothing else on it did, nor ever would again.

"Well, take it this way," the steward said as they walked carefully through the dark corridors, "You've now reached the point where your day cannot possibly get worse!"

"I dunno," shrugged Sadie, "I guess I could _die_ or something. That'd be worse."

"Yeah, true," nodded the steward.

Behind them, Amethyst, Peridot, Sour Cream and Peedee followed along, Peedee nervously shining his own torch into the darkness. Amethyst had her whip out, and Sour Cream was carrying a pair of glow sticks. Exactly what he planned to do with them was unclear, but at least it brightened the dark hallway.

"Nearly there," said the steward, as they slowly climbed one of the stairwells, "Better tell 'em we're coming."

He pulled a radio from his coat pocket.

"This is Mr. Moray to Second Officer Emerson, we're half a minute out, copy?"

There was no reply.

"Mr. Moray to Second Officer Emerson, please respond?"

Still nothing. Amethyst narrowed her eyes.

"Something ain't right here," she muttered.

"Wait a minute," said Peridot, "Do you hear something?"

There was a long silence.

"No," replied Sour Cream, "You must be hearing things..."

"That's the point!" exclaimed Peridot, "We should be able to hear the ballroom from here!"

Everyone exchanged glances.

"Everyone stay behind me," whispered Amethyst.

They crept forward, as quietly as they could. They reached the ballroom door, which had been closed to conserve oxygen - Amethyst slowly opened it.

The ballroom lights had been turned off again. Inside, both passengers and crew were standing perfectly still, staring out the window into the sea. Nobody made even the slightest movement - their eyes were glassy and unfocused. The eerie teal light and the long shadows made the scene all the more unnerving.

"Did we just walk into a zombie movie or something?" asked Sour Cream.

"Guys!"

Amethyst jumped and turned to face the voice, her whip ready. She calmed as she realised that it was just Kiki. She was standing next to her sister, who was just as entranced as everyone around her. So too was Buck, standing across from her.

"What happened here?" demanded Peridot.

"There was this weird melody," replied Kiki, "And everybody just... _stopped_. I can't get anybody to wake up!"

"A few of us don't seem to have been affected," added Fourth Officer Rollins, walking over from the stage, "Not a lot, though - just me, Ms. Pizza here and..."

"Don't you walk away from me, I _demand_ an explanation!"

"...Farthington," grumbled Rollins, as the wealthy man stormed up behind him.

"I have a right mind to sue the company, Rollins!" barked Farthington, "You sink the ship, you damage my property and my outfit, and now this! This is rank incompetence and I will not..."

There was a loud bang. A staff door on the side of the room shuddered. Farthington jumped and shut up.

The door banged again. Amethyst clenched her teeth and inched towards it.

"Come on, just try it," she hissed, "I'm ready for you..."

The door flew open. Amethyst hurled her whip at the figure that emerged.

 _THWACK._

"ARGH! _Geez!_ "

Third Officer Todd brought his hand over his bruised cheek, loudly shouting a string of very rude words.

"Mr. Todd!" exclaimed Rollins.

"I thought you were a Gem!" said Amethyst.

"Do I look like a Gem?!" demanded Todd.

"Yeesh, reflex, I'm sorry," shrugged Amethyst.

Todd shook his head and turned to Rollins and Moray.

"Mr. Rollins, Mr. Moray," he barked, "What happened?"

"Your guess is as good as mine, sir," shrugged Rollins, "There was this song and then..."

There was a sudden, shrill ringing sound. A red light appeared at the centre of the room. Another red ball had appeared at the centre of the ballroom - but this one was pulsating wildly and expanding rapidly.

"What in the name of..."

There was a flash and a sonic boom, and everybody fell to the ground.

When the light cleared, they found themselves looking at a squad of seven Quartz soldiers. Six of them were basically interchangeable. Their heads were covered by black helmets, not unlike Jasper's, but their faces were covered by threatening masks that looked a lot like gas respirators. They wore similar red uniforms to that of Topaz, although with two crossing belts instead of just one. The seventh Quartz wore no helmet, exposing her green head and lime hair - her uniform was exactly like Topaz', except blue. Her Gem couldn't be seen, clearly completely covered by her clothing - a very unusual thing for a Gem.

"Gather the crew and bring them to processing," she barked, wasting no time, "We need to be finished and ready to report to Blue Quartz in an hour. Understood?"

"Yes, Prasiolite!" replied the soldiers.

"Keep it by the book, soldiers, no accidents," Prasiolite added, "That means _you_ , Facet..."

She trailed off as she realised that she was being watched. She turned to the group without a word, eyes narrowed.

"Um...hello," gulped Peedee.

"Darn it, _immunes_ ," growled Prasiolite, "Bring 'em in!"

The squad immediately leapt into the air. Two of them landed, perfectly in sync, at the main doors of the ballroom, blocking the group's escape - a third blocked the staff door. A third came down hard next to the group, and the shockwave sent Moray flying into the wall. He landed hard, sliding limply to the ground.

Amethyst leapt at the soldier who had knocked out Moray, swinging her whip into her face and sending her crashing into the same wall with such force that her head broke through. She twirled round, keeping her momentum and wrapping the whip around the torso of the fifth. She then leapt into the air, swinging over the soldier and sending a flying kick right into the sixth soldier, knocking her onto her back. She pulled the whip back, dragging the fifth hard to the floor.

"Gem," snarled Prasiolite, "Squad! You're authorised to use weapons!"

There were a series of red glows as blocky energy weapons appeared in the hands of the soldiers. Peridot frowned.

"Energy rifles?!" she snapped, "Hey, no fair, Quartz' aren't supposed to have those!"

Amethyst charged at the soldier guarding the staff door, diving into her spin attack as she did. The soldier raised her rifle and fired - a burst of green energy slammed into Amethyst, knocking her out of the ball and flinging her behind the stage.

"Amethyst!" exclaimed Peridot, running for her.

Two soldiers saw her make her move and raised their weapons.

"We've gotta do something!" hissed Kiki.

"Follow my lead," said Sour Cream, handing her a glow stick.

"What."

Sour Cream leapt in front of the soldiers, holding his own glow stick at them.

"Stay back!" he yelled, "I have a secret Earth super-weapon!"

The soldiers hesitated, stepping back. Kiki ran out next to him, holding her own glow stick at them and trying to look threatening.

"Don't come close, we're _rad_ and _dangerous!_ " she snapped.

The soldiers continued to hesitate as the group raced after Peridot for the back of the stage, Kiki and Sour Cream covering them.

"You fools!" bellowed Prasiolite, "They're _humans!_ They're a technological backwater! _Those weapons won't hurt you!_ "

Amethyst had come down hard and made a visible dent in the floor, but she was already getting back up when Peridot got there. She shook her head, angrily grinding her teeth.

"I can't take 'em alone," she begrudgingly admitted, "We need to find the other Gems."

"How do you plan to get off the ship?!" demanded Todd.

Peridot glanced at the window.

"The submarines," she said, "We can steal one."

"Do you know how to drive it, Peri?" asked Amethyst.

There was a brief silence.

"We'll cross that bridge when it comes," shrugged Amethyst, "First we need to get out of here."

"There's a crew stairwell," replied Rollins, "Behind the staff door. If we can get there..."

"Run on my mark," nodded Amethyst.

She flung her whip at a chandelier, snagging it as a support.

"Mark!"

She jumped into the air, swinging straight into one of the soldiers' face and flooring her. Reaching the end of her swing, she freed her whip from the chandelier and flung it to another.

A soldier fired her weapon. Amethyst swung right to dodge it, swinging into another one and kicking her rifle out of her hands. She dropped from the chandelier and rolled over a table, tackling a soldier on the other side.

Prasiolite roared, charging towards Amethyst. Between her and the Crystal Gem, Rollins tripped over his feet and founding himself in front of the advancing Quartz. He gulped and spread himself out in front of her.

"You shall not p-"

Prasiolite trampled the Fourth Officer, losing her footing in the process. Rollins was knocked out, but he had bought time.

Amethyst leapt over a second table and skidded up to the staff door. The rest of the group arrived a second later. Todd slammed his key into the lock and quickly opened it.

"Get in, now!" yelled Amethyst.

Farthington sniffed as the others filed in.

"Good Lord, it's _filthy_ in there!" he exclaimed, "Forget it, I am not sullying myself by going into that _cesspit!_ I shall simply take the main door."

He turned around and found himself face to face with Prasiolite.

"You there!" he snapped, "I have a right mind to take legal action against your-"

Prasiolite punched him across the face, sending him flying. Todd rolled his eyes as he slammed the door shut.

"It only opens from that side, so we've got a bit of time," he said, "We can get to the bridge, come on!"

They darted up the stairs, the ominous sound of banging on the door behind them.

"So how exactly do we get to the submarines?" demanded Peedee.

"Easy," replied Peridot, "We break a window and then we use Amethyst's mad whip skillage."

"Wait, we _break a window?_ " repeated Sadie, "Wouldn't that...you know... _drown everyone?_ "

"The bridge is airtight," said Todd, "And in any case, the pressure of the sea should have crushed the ship already, so I wager there's something protecting us."

"It's not like we have any other options," said Amethyst.

They reached a trapdoor, which Todd quickly opened. They emerged onto the bridge, shutting the door behind them.

"Where's the nearest sub?" demanded Amethyst.

The teal light suddenly became almost blinding as a submarine immediately wafted up right next to the bridge.

" _Immunes!_ " the voice of a Ruby bellowed, " _Surrender immediately! This is your last warning!_ "

"Speak of the devil," muttered Todd.

Amethyst clutched her whip.

"Do we do this?" she asked, "Because I think we've only got one shot at this..."

"Actually, Amethyst, Gems can't drown," said Peridot, "So if we fail the first time, we can always..."

"Ugh, just stop making me think about it and do it!" exclaimed Peedee.

Amethyst nodded, staring down the submarine.

 _One shot._

She leapt forward, smashing the window. Water immediately began to rush into the bridge, knocking everybody off their feet. The clock was now ticking.

Amethyst latched onto the sub with her whip and swung around, grabbing onto the back. She grabbed the back door and pulled it open - there seemed to be an invisible shield preventing it from flooding as she jumped inside, which was helpful. She ran the length of the cargo compartment and pulled open the door to the cockpit.

The Ruby in the pilot's seat looked back and shrieked as she saw Amethyst step into her cockpit.

"Get off of my sub!" growled Amethyst.

The Ruby shrieked again, slamming her finger on a button on the dashboard in front of her. The chair rocketed up through a hatch on the roof, ejecting the Ruby into the relative safety of the sea.

Amethyst ran back into the cargo compartment and pushed hard on the side of the ship, turning it around so that the door faced the bridge. Once more she flung her whip, grabbing a short pole on top of the bridge and using it to winch herself and the sub back towards it.

By now, the bridge had flooded. On seeing the submarine approach, the group swam quickly towards it - as her form was adjusting to the gravity of the sea, Peridot needed to ride on Sadie's back in order to make it over. One by one, they entered the back of the sub and reached air again, each of them gasping for air as they did.

"You know," wheezed Todd, "This is really testing my affection for the sea."

"You're telling me," grunted Kiki, pulling the back door shut.

Peridot ran for the cockpit, jumping into the co-pilot's seat. She glanced at the controls, nodded, and leaned over them.

"Where to?" she asked.

"Surface!" called Todd.

"No way, man, we need to get Garnet and the rest!" exclaimed Amethyst.

"We need to consolidate first," snapped Todd, "And as ranking White Sun officer aboard this sub, I say we head for the island and make camp. We can figure out a game plan after that."

"And why should we trust you?" demanded Amethyst.

Todd didn't reply.

"Uh...I am kind of hungry," said Sour Cream, raising his hands, "There could be fruit up there or something.

Amethyst sighed heavily.

"Fine, get us to the island," she said.

"Aye-aye, Captain Ams!" nodded Peridot.

The submarine sailed into the dark waters. The _Discovery_ continued to lie silently behind as the Providence submarines began to phase inside to collect the souls aboard for processing.

* * *

AN: Action sequences aren't my strong point, but I love writing them.


	10. Chapter Nine

I think we're just about at the halfway point here.

Guest review replies;

 **SilverG:** Out of the frying pan and into the fire, eh? Thanks for reading!

* * *

 **Nine**

Lapis' 'entourage' had been taken to a small room a few floors down from the top of the tower. It seemed a nice enough place - a few ornate chairs, a good view of the city from the window - but it was just cool enough to be slightly uncomfortable. Perhaps this was deliberate - a way of reminding the occupants of the room who held power over them.

For a while, nobody spoke much. Pearl was pacing up and down anxiously. Lapis sat on one of the chairs, focusing very intently on the floor. Garnet stood against a wall, arms crossed - nobody could tell what she was thinking. Greg lay on the floor and gazed at the ceiling, wondering exactly when his vacation had gone so horribly wrong. Steven sat next to him, occasionally nodding sympathetically.

Connie sat next to the door, looking out into the sea. Steven looked over to her, furrowing his brow.

"I'm gonna check on Connie," he said quietly, "You gonna be okay, dad?"

"I'll be fine, kiddo," replied Greg, nodding.

Steven walked over to Connie, sitting down next to her.

"You okay?" he asked.

Connie didn't reply. Steven swallowed, putting his hand on hers.

"Red Beryl was wrong about you," he said firmly, "You're not dumb, or weak, or..."

"That was a test," said Connie.

Steven raised his eyebrows, not quite understanding.

"She wanted to see what Lapis would do if she attacked me," she added, "So she could work out what kind of the Gem she was."

"So she wanted to know if Lapis was good or not?" replied Steven, "That seems a pretty harsh way to test that."

"But she used me as a tool, Steven!" replied Connie, "She didn't care what happened to me one way or the other! And I had a Gem to vouch for me!"

She looked Steven in the eye.

"If she didn't care about me, why would she care about anyone else on the ship?" she asked.

"Uh...Lapis will vouch for them?" shrugged Steven, swallowing again.

"I've got a really bad feeling about this," said Connie, warily.

Steven squeezed Connie's hand.

"Hey," he said, "We're gonna be okay."

"How do you know that?" asked Connie.

"Because we have each other," replied Steven, "And we're gonna stick together, no matter what."

Connie smiled despite herself.

"And also Cookie Cat!" exclaimed Steven, reaching into his backpack. He rummaged around for a few seconds, then pulled out a very soggy Cookie Cat packet.

He gazed at it for a second and frowned.

"Oh wait, it's melted," he said.

On cue, the front of the packet immediately flopped downwards in an almost sad fashion.

There was a short silence.

Steven and Connie broke into giggles, breaking the silent mood of the room. The Gems and Greg looked at them, a little puzzled. Steven and Connie looked up at them, tried to regain their composure, but immediately broke into another giggle fit.

Eventually they calmed themselves and the quiet returned, but the oppressive atmosphere of the room seemed to have slightly waned.

* * *

"Name."

"Captain Frederick Carl Student, RMS _Discovery_."

"Who do you work for?"

"White Sun Line. Passenger ship company."

"Where are you from?"

"You mean what's the _Discovery_ 's home port? Southampton, Great Britain."

"Who are your followers?"

"My officers, you mean? Well, we don't currently have a Chief Officer, the last one retired last fortnight, so First Officer Stokes is doubling in that role. Then there's Second Officer Emerson, Third Officer Todd, Fourth Officer Jacks...I mean Rollins..."

Blue Quartz sighed heavily as Topaz asked question after question. The high-ranking quartz wore a similar uniform to the other Quartz', though hers was sleeveless and dark blue (darker than Prasiolite). Her Gem sat on the bicep of her right arm. She wore a helmet that concealed most of her hair, save for a few tufts that emerged over her visor at the front. She also had a few dark patches on her skin, not unlike those of a Jasper. Currently, she was standing at ease next to her master, Red Beryl, watching the questioning of Captain Student.

Blue Quartz would never admit it, _especially_ to Red Beryl, but she found the questions asked by Topaz to be dull and unilluminating. All Red Beryl and her other senior underling were concerned about were strategic topics - which humans are most powerful? What weapons have they developed? Have they been to space yet? What countries control what resources? What she wanted to know was very much the opposite of strategic - how do humans live? What do they do for fun? What do they love? What do they hate?

But asking such questions would be considered a waste of time, if not outright heretical. So instead, she stood guard as she always had, said nothing that wasn't of a military basis, and waited for her time to advise Red Beryl on how to interact with the human world. She'd advise against military action, _again_ , and then a few decades later they get another ship and do it all over again.

There was a stereotype that most quartz' lived for fighting and war and weapons, and indeed, many did - the ones that had never had to do the boring and bureaucratic staff work behind the violence.

"What are the most powerful factions in the human world?" asked Topaz.

"Um...geez, that's a change in the line of questioning," replied Captain Student, scratching his head, "I guess it would be the Americans, China, India, maybe Brazil..."

"Captain Forrest never mentioned any of them," muttered Red Beryl, quietly.

Topaz glanced back at her, nodded reverently, and asked another question.

"What happened to the British Empire?" she asked, "Forrest told us they were the most powerful human faction."

"The Empire's dead and buried," replied Captain Student, "And not a lot of people miss it, quite frankly. It fell apart after the Great Eastern War - spent all our money fighting the Soviets."

"Soviets?" asked Topaz.

"Um, Russians, I guess," shrugged Captain Student, "It's more complicated than that, but it would take too long for me to explain..."

Blue Quartz fought the urge to sigh in impatience as the questioning dragged on and on.

"What is your most powerful weapon?" asked Topaz. Blue Quartz nearly smiled in relief - this was usually one of the last questions.

"The Bomb, easily," replied Captain Student.

There was a long silence.

"You mean...you have nuclear weapons?" said Topaz.

"Atomic, hydrogen, take your pick," nodded Captain Student, "I don't know much of the specifics, but I was on a nuclear submarine a long time ago, so I might be able to describe..."

"No, no, that'll be fine, thanks," nodded Topaz.

She looked over to Red Beryl and Blue Quartz again. She looked a little bit worried.

"We should talk in private," nodded Red Beryl.

* * *

"You said we had a window of three-hundred years!"

"Your eminence, they-they've advanced quicker than we expected!"

Red Beryl furiously paced back and forth in her chamber, Topaz desperately explaining herself as she did. Blue Quartz stood still at attention, waiting for her orders.

"Who predicted the humans' rate of scientific discovery, Topaz?" demanded Red Beryl.

"Uh...Turquoise, Facet 9E2L Cut 2IZ, your eminence," replied Topaz.

"Bring her to me," ordered Red Beryl.

"Yes, your eminence, right away!"

She bolted for the elevator. Red Beryl turned to Blue Quartz, who saluted but remained silent.

"It may be time," she said.

"I don't think it is, your eminence," replied Blue Quartz.

"Explain?"

"We can work with the humans, your eminence," said Blue Quartz, "I believe we would be stronger together, and would have a greater chance of regaining extraterrestrial capacity and returning to Homeworld..."

"Stronger together?" said Red Beryl, "Blue Quartz, I want to make something especially clear. We are not equal to the humans. We will never _be_ equals. We have made enough compromises in Providence for me to explain to the Great Diamond Authority - I will not compound them by rubbing shoulders with our inferiors."

"Like the Lapis Lazuli has done?" demanded Blue Quartz, "Maybe things have changed, your eminence?"

Red Beryl strode up to her underling, towering over her as she glared down at her face. Her expression was hard and cold. She gazed into Blue Quartz' eyes.

There was a long silence. Finally, Blue Quartz flinched and looked away.

"You have more privileges than many, Blue Quartz," nodded Red Beryl, "But you would do well to remember who is charge."

She looked out her window into the sea.

"Check the weapon's readiness," she ordered, "Bring the Lapis with you."

"Yes, your eminence," nodded Blue Quartz, marching for the elevator.

Red Beryl narrowed her eyes.

"We'll find out if she really represents Homeworld," she said to herself.

* * *

The early morning sun shone over the beach. The volcano towered above, sticking out from the green like a great tower in a small city. All was quiet, save for the sound of distant birds.

Suddenly there was a roar and a rush of water as a submarine burst from the water, slamming into the beach at great speed and burying it's nose in the sand.

The back door opened, and Peridot walked confidently out. She grinned.

"What a perfectly executed landing," she declared, "Well, remember where we parked!"

The others stumbled out behind her. Peedee made a loud groan and fell face-first into the sand.

"Peri, you're never driving again," muttered Amethyst.

They spread out, looking over the beach and into the wilderness.

"Take it in, everyone," said Todd, "We're definitely in uncharted waters now."

"We've gotta be the only humans to stand on this island since... _forever_ ," added Kiki.

"Well, except that guy," said Sour Cream, pointing towards the tree-line.

A hunched man was foraging through a bush, his head and face covered in long, scraggly hair. He wore no shirt, exposing his somewhat bony chest - his white pants were ripped almost to shreds and covered in dirt and stains.

"Who the heck is that?" demanded Amethyst.

The man jumped, hearing Amethyst. He looked towards his sudden company, screeched loudly and fled into the trees.

"Wait! We're not gonna hurt you!" exclaimed Kiki, "Come back!."

"Maybe we should follow him," mused Sour Cream.

"That would be ridiculous!" exclaimed Peridot, "If that man wants to scream and eat branches, he should be allowed to! We've got better things to do than chase him into the uncharted wilderness, and..."

She trailed off, gazing in exhasperation as the rest of the party chased the man into the trees.

"Yes," she said sarcastically, "Let's just _ignore_ the smartest Gem. Clearly the wilderness is the best place for us to be!"

She sighed and chased after them.

* * *

AN: Hey look, it's Tom Hanks in _Castaway_. (okay not really)


	11. Chapter Ten

Woo! Ten!

Unfortunately, I may be slowing down a little at this point. I have some essays to finish and another project I'm working on for October (it'll go in the Cartoon X-Overs section, if you're interested.) Still, I try to get a least a few chapters up in that time.

Guest review replies;

 **SilverG:** She did well, she did. Thanks for reading!

* * *

 **Ten**

The ragged man fled through the trees, Amethyst leading her group behind him. It was hard going through the vines and branches, but the purple gem managed to keep up with the man. The rest of the group followed behind, somewhat slowed down by the rough terrain.

"Come on, man!" called Amethyst, "We just wanna talk!"

The man yelled out and jumped into some bushes, disappearing from view. Amethyst leapt after him, falling through the branches and tumbling down into a ditch.

She cringed, spitting dirt out as she climbed to her feet. She shook her head and looked around.

She was standing in the remains of a camp. Rotting crates and tents that had nearly disintegrated stood mostly abandoned in the mossy grotto, slightly protected from the elements by a cliff overhang far above. The man had climbed into one of the tents and seemed to be rummaging for something.

"Wow, this place is a real du- _argh!_ "

She fell to the ground as Peridot tumbled down on top of her.

"Don't worry, everyone!" she called back up the ridge, "I landed on something soft!"

" _Get off_ ," hissed Amethyst.

"Huh?"

She looked down.

"Oh, sorry Ams," she nodded, stepping off of Amethyst's back.

Slowly, the others climbed down to meet them. They watched the man rummage through the tent, wondering what he was looking for. They soon found out.

The man roared, pulling a musket out of the tent and pointing it straight at Amethyst.

"Whoa!" exclaimed Amethyst, "Calm down."

"This escalated quickly," said Sour Cream.

"Back!" the man yelled, his voice hoarse and scratchy, " _Back!_ "

"We don't mean any harm!" exclaimed Sadie, holding her hands up.

"Leave!" the man bellowed, "Go away!"

"Is that...is that a Lancashire accent?" asked Todd, scratching his head, "I...I think he's English..."

"Who are you?" asked Peedee.

The man blinked, thrusting the musket forward threateningly.

"What is your name?" asked Peedee, speaking more slowly this time.

The man seemed to take a moment to think of his answer.

"La...Left...Lieutenant Benjamin Forrest," he said, with the tone of someone who hadn't used those words in a very long time, "Royal Navy."

He shook his head.

" _Leave!_ " he thundered, thrusting the musket again.

There was a long silence.

"Sir, I...um...your flint seems to have rusted shut," Todd pointed out.

"Give me that," grunted Peridot, raising her hands.

The musket raised out of Forrest's hands. He screamed and ducked into the tent, drawing it shut.

"Aw man, you scared him!" said Kiki.

"What kind of primitive weapon is this?" asked Peridot, levitating the musket into her hands.

"Flintlock musket," replied Todd, "'Brown Bess', I think. But those things are _ancient_. They'd have been used by redcoats..."

"You mean like these guys?"

Sour Cream had pulled back some vines, revealing a small, shallow tunnel in the ground. Three skeletons lay inside, each dressed in a ragged red uniform and tall cylindrical hat. Peedee, Sadie, Kiki and Todd winced.

"Should we feed those humans?" asked Peridot, "They look a bit skinny."

"It's a...little too late for that," replied Sadie.

"Why? Is it past their feeding time or something?"

"You could say that."

"So, redcoats and muskets," mused Todd, "How long's this camp been here for?"

Amethyst squinted, seeing a shine in the soil below. She kneeled down and picked up a small coin, turning it over in her hands. The coin's date was printed on the 'heads' side.

 _QUEEN VICTORIA - AD 1845_

"Almost two hundred years," she replied.

* * *

"Ma'am, you'd better steel yourself. You're about to see one of the largest construction sites in the history of Gems on Earth."

Topaz was leading Lapis and her 'entourage' (escorted by Blue Quartz and Red Pearl) down a tunnel on the side of the volcano. Steven mopped his brow as they walked, feeling the temperature getting warmer and warmer. The tunnel was dark and rocky - a faint red glow could be seen up ahead, indicating an exit to the tunnel just around the corner.

The atmosphere was dark and oppressive - so naturally, Steven decided to try and lighten it.

"So, what do you do around here?" he asked Blue Quartz.

"I am the supreme commander of all of Providence's troops," replied Blue Quartz, "I'm responsible for all strategy, training and equipment."

"Wow," said Steven.

"It's much less exciting than it sounds," shrugged Blue Quartz.

"So is this thing we're gonna look at yours?" he asked.

"No," replied Blue Quartz, rolling her eyes, "This enormous waste of material is Topaz' baby."

"You call it a waste now," snorted Topaz, "But wait until you see her in action."

"Uh-huh," grunted Blue Quartz.

"So it's a weapon?" asked Connie.

"A big one," nodded Topaz, her expression proud, "I call it the Atmospheric Attack System!"

"An Attack System? Geez, that sounds pretty aggressive," muttered Greg.

"...it's a _weapon_ ," reminded Topaz.

Pearl tuned out the conversation, looking over to Red Pearl. She was meekly following on behind, trying to look official and deferential.

"Are you alright?" she asked quietly.

"Why...why wouldn't I be?" replied Red Pearl, "I..."

"Did I ask you to speak?" demanded Topaz.

Red Pearl shook her head and looked down at her feet. Pearl narrowed her eyes at Topaz and shook her head.

They emerged at a guard post in front of a massive steel door, built into the side of the mountain. Two Rubies stood guard - they snapped to attention as the group arrived.

"At ease," nodded Blue Quartz, "We're here to inspect the weapon."

"Yes ma'am!" barked one of the Rubies, "We'll open it up right now."

"So, who's building this?" asked Lapis, "Bismuths?"

"We lost all our Bismuths when we crashed on Earth," replied Topaz.

"Oh...more Rubies, then?"

Topaz grinned.

"Oh, we've got a much more novel solution..."

* * *

"So what, this old guy's been living here for a hundred-fifty years?" asked Kiki.

"Closer to a hundred and seventy, actually," shrugged Peridot, "Why? Is that unusual?"

"Yeah, you know, most humans tend to get old and die before then," replied Sadie.

"Ergh. How inefficient," said Peridot.

"Something's really _wrong_ about all this," said Amethyst, "This camp has got to be connected to the Gem city..."

"I found something!"

The group ran behind one of the tents. Todd had pulled back some vines, revealing a small tunnel running deep down into the ground.

"Reckon that leads somewhere important?" asked Peedee.

"It's definitely too smooth to be natural," mused Todd.

"I'm going in," declared Amethyst, drawing her whip, "Wait here."

"What?" exclaimed Peridot, "You're just gonna waltz into a mysterious tunnel on your own without any form of backup?"

"Why, you wanna come?" asked Amethyst, holding her hand out.

Peridot blinked.

"Okay," she nodded, taking Amethyst's hand.

"Wait!"

Todd reached into his jacket, drawing his revolver and holding it grip-first towards them.

"Take this, just in case," he offered.

Amethyst held up her whip.

"Dude, I don't need that," she said, rolling her eyes.

Todd coughed and put his revolver back in his jacket.

"Right, right...um...I'll just hold onto it, then."

Amethyst nodded.

"Well, be right back!" she said.

She leapt into the tunnel, dragging Peridot in behind her. The green gem screeched loudly as they began to tumble downwards into the darkness.

Amethyst whooped loudly as they flew down, faster as faster, as if rolling down a very long and dark slide. For her part, Peridot simply closed her eyes and screamed. Down and down they went - the tunnel grew warmer and warmer.

Before too long, an orange glow appeared in the distance.

"We're nearly there!" called Amethyst, "Brace!"

" _Brace for what?!_ " demanded Peridot.

There was a painful thud as they landed straight onto hard rock. Peridot rolled over, landing on her back. She kept her eyes shut, muttering to herself.

"Ow...why...this day can't get any worse..."

She opened her eyes, realising Amethyst hadn't responded. She was staring into the distance, deathly quiet.

"Ams, what is it?" asked Peridot, climbing to her feet, "What's going..."

She trailed off, jaw dropping as she gazed across the massive cavern.

In the centre of the cavern, there was the barrel of an enormous weapon, red and gold in colour, not dissimilar to the cannon of a railway gun, although much larger. It stretched high above them, right to the top of the cavern - almost to the visible open top of the volcano. Tubes of magma ran into the barrel at several places, seemingly feeding into the hungry machine.

That, though awe-inspiring and terrible, was not the shocking thing.

The horror had come from the workforce.

* * *

Far, far below, at the bottom supports of the weapon, Steven and his friends watched on in utter shock as the carriage of the weapon was constructed.

Dozens, perhaps hundreds of haggard human beings, dressed only in rags, worked on the machine. All were chained together in small gangs - they carried heavy components for the weapon, or worked suspended on the sides forging the various pieces together. Their eyes were glazed and unfocused. They were watched by teams of armed Quartz soldiers, glaring down at them from high podiums, clearly waiting for one minor slipup.

Connie covered her mouth. Greg stepped back, wincing. Pearl shook her head in mute horror, barely noticing that her red counterpart seemed to be almost as taken aback as she was. Lapis clenched her fists, eyes wide. Garnet's expression was unreadable.

Steven, feeling somewhat sick, gazed up at Topaz, trying and failing to stop himself from shaking.

"What...what is this?" he asked.

"Brilliance," replied Topaz, totally oblivious to her companions' reactions, "Why risk Gems when we can use the only inexhaustible resource on your Earth?"

She grinned and crossed her arms.

"I love humans," she said, "They're so efficient."

* * *

AN: _GEM WORKFORCE IS PEOPLE_

I actually narrowly avoided embarrassment here. The weapon was supposed to be called the Atmospheric Strike System, but...I think you can tell why that might not work.


	12. Chapter Eleven

*raises from the dead* _I LIIIVE_

Sorry for the long hiatus there - I was working on another project in the Cartoon X-Overs section. It's called Halloween Unspectacular VI and it was a challenge to write one one-shot every day for the whole of October. But anyway, it's done now, so let's get back to work!

Guest review replies;

 **SilverG:** DESTROY US ALL! DESTROY US ALL! ETC. Thanks for reading!

* * *

 **Eleven**

"It's impressive, isn't it?" said Topaz, hands behind her back.

The Crystal Gems watched, still in shock, as the slaves continued to work hard on the machine. One stumbled - a Quartz soldier jabbed him on the back with the blunt end of a spear, and he slowly climbed to his feet, coughing all the while.

"I...I never knew," whispered Red Pearl.

"Of course you didn't, we don't tell Pearls military secrets," shrugged Topaz.

"It's not pretty," admitted Blue Quartz, "But...it's necessary. We need this weapon ready - it may one day be needed."

"But why slaves?" demanded Steven.

"They're cheap and efficient," shrugged Topaz, "And they free up Gems for more important tasks."

"But-"

"Blue Quartz!"

A Ruby ran through the door, snapping to attention in front of the larger Gem.

"Message from the Supreme Leader, ma'am," she said, handing her a datapad.

Blue Quartz studied the pad. She sighed and looked up.

"Fire mission," she barked, "Thirty-eight ninety north, seventy-seven zero three west!"

"Ooh, must be a test!" said Topaz excitedly, "We don't get to do this much!"

Connie furrowed her brow and pulled out her phone.

"Topaz, this is terrible!" exclaimed Steven, "You can't use people like this, _especially_ not to make a weapon!"

"You're a child, you'll understand when you're older," shrugged Topaz, "We need this destructive capacity to ensure peace..."

"That's a pretty dangerous line of thinking," said Pearl, narrowing her eyes.

"Statements like that are why we keep Pearls out of the military apparatus," sniffed Topaz.

"Statements like _that_ are why you probably need them," snarled Garnet.

Topaz turned to Lapis.

"Ma'am, I'm going to have to ask you to control your entourage..."

"That's Washington!"

All eyes fell on Connie, looking up from her phone with wide eyes.

"39.90 North, 77.03 West," she explained, "That's latitude and longitude. They're aiming at Washington DC!"

" _What?!_ " exclaimed Greg.

"Blue Quartz?" asked Topaz, "Did you..."

"Red Beryl did indicate that she considered the humans a threat," admitted Blue Quartz, "I think she might have ordered the destruction of military targets-"

" _Military targets?_ " spluttered Greg, "That's a _city!_ "

"Topaz, Blue Quartz, please!" exclaimed Steven, "You can't do this! You'll hurt innocent people! You can't-"

"War is war," muttered Blue Quartz, "We do what have to."

"But you _don't have to do this!_ " shouted Steven, "We can work together! We..."

"Quiet," snapped Topaz, losing her patience, "Stay out of things you don't understand!"

"I _do_ understand!" bellowed Steven, "And this is _wrong!_ "

"Show respect or I will _teach_ you respect!" thundered Topaz, drawing a small battleaxe from her gem.

A sudden burst of water slammed into her face, knocking her onto her back. Lapis stepped in front of Steven, her face twisted into a furious scowl.

"You leave him alone," she snarled.

Topaz narrowed her eyes.

"We knew you were too soft for this," she growled, "More pity for you."

She climbed to her feet.

"Rubies!"

A squad of Rubies leapt out of the doorway, taking up fighting stances. They quickly moved to surround the group. Greg winced.

"Are we gonna have to _fight_ them, or can we..."

"Bring it on!" shouted Pearl, shouldering her spear.

"Yeah, that...that's what I thought."

"Do what you like with the humans and the Pearl," snapped Topaz, "But bring the Garnet and the Lapis Lazuli in intact!"

"Yes ma'am!" shouted the Rubies.

"Well," gulped Steven, drawing his shield from his gem, "Here we go..."

* * *

"This doesn't make any sense," said Peridot.

She and Amethyst were walking down one of the tubes, headed towards the base of the giant gun. All around them, the work on the gun carried on, none of the guards taking any real notice of the interlopers.

"What doesn't?" demanded Amethyst, "They're bad, and we're gonna kick their butts. That's all I need to understand."

"But how are they keeping all these slaves alive?" asked Peridot, "Don't humans tend to fall apart after seventy-odd years? Surely it would've just been easier to use Rubies or Bismuths..."

"Doesn't matter," said Amethyst, "We're gonna find out how to destroy the gun, and then we're gonna destroy the gun."

"Well, sure, but it's worth thinking about," shrugged Peridot, "I mean, these Gems are working with tech that's five-thousand years old, and they can extend the human lifespan far beyond its ordinary capacity."

"So what?"

"So what could the _Diamonds_ do?" asked Peridot.

"You mean you don't know?" said Amethyst.

"My work was mostly in weapons development," replied Peridot, "I wasn't involved in the processing of indigenous populations."

"Processing?"

"In retrospect, it was probably a...what might Pearl call it? A _euphemism?_ I dunno," shrugged Peridot, "But I never really thought about it."

She furrowed her brow.

"That was wrong, wasn't it?" she said, "Not to care about it..."

"Well, you do now, don't you?" shrugged Amethyst, "Who cares what you were before? You're one of us now."

Peridot smiled.

"Wow, thanks."

"No prob..."

She trailed off, raised an arm and pointed below them.

Prasiolite and her troops were leading the passengers and crew of the _Discovery_ into the chamber, arranged in ranks of two. Over to the side, Rollins, Farthington, Moray and a few others had been dumped on the ground and roped together - the rich Englishman still complaining bitterly to everybody who would listen.

"...when I get out of here, I am going _straight_ to Parliament and I swear I'll have the full might of the Royal Navy on top of you in nothing flat! And then I'll have the LNER board sue you for everything you have! You hear me? You'll regret the day you crossed Lord Sir Reginald Farthington Brooke-Caruthers of County Durham!"

"Can we shut him up?" asked one of the Quartz soldiers.

"We've knocked him out twice, and every time he wakes up he keeps going," replied Prasiolite, "Just tune him out. We'll throw him in the magma after processing is finished with the rest of the immunes."

"It almost feels cruel...to the magma," grunted the soldier.

"Ma'am!"

A third soldier strode up to Prasiolite, carrying a long bag.

"Isn't that one of Connie's bags?" whispered Amethyst.

"We found this in one of the cabins, ma'am," said the soldier, opening up the bag.

Amethyst cringed as the soldier pulled out the familiar shape of Rose Quartz' sword.

"We can't let them keep that," growled Amethyst, "We have to get it."

"But if we attack them, we lose the element of surprise," whispered Peridot.

"But we'll get the sword and save the crew," replied Amethyst, "Come on, Peri, we have to take a chance here."

"But...but I can't just..."

Amethyst took Peridot's hand in hers.

"It'll be fine, Peridot," she said, "There's two of us - we've got this."

There was a long silence. Finally, Peridot nodded.

"So...Crystal Gems?" she asked.

"Heck yeah," nodded Amethyst, smirking.

She took a deep breath and then they both leapt down.

* * *

AN: There was an action sequence that was going to be here, but that can wait until chapter twelve, because you've all waited long enough.


	13. Chapter Twelve

Sorry for the hiatus (again). Writer's block and test periods are both terrible things, and this chapter fought me most of the way.

Guest review replies;

 **SilverG:** Hurray, people get my references! Thanks for reading!

* * *

 **Twelve**

Prasiolite never saw the attack coming. One moment she was standing tall, giving orders to her subordinates - the next she had been body-slammed as Amethyst leapt down on her. The quartz soldier with Rose's sword raised the weapon, but with a loud crash Peridot fell on her head.

Peridot clutched the sword and scurried off the soldier. Behind her, Amethyst wrapped her whip around Prasiolite's torso and heaved - the larger gem burst into a cloud of smoke.

The other three soldiers raised their energy rifles and fired. Peridot squeaked loudly and raised the sword - a beam bounced off it and flew back to its sender, knocking her into the back wall and poofing her. As Peridot stared in awe at the sword in her hands, Amethyst advanced, leaping into the air and spinning into a ball. She slammed into the other two soldiers with great force, sending them flying into the air and down into a crevice.

Amethyst rubbed her hands together as if dusting them off.

"Nice save there, Peridot," she said.

"Uh...yeah, no problem!" replied Peridot, "That...that was completely intentional!"

"You there! Cut us loose!"

Farthington had already begun to rant again as they walked over to the captives.

"Yeah, yeah, hold your horses, Captain Obnoxious," grunted Amethyst.

"Obnoxious?! _Obnoxious?!_ Why, you little..."

"We know where the rest of the passengers are," interrupted Rollins, "They're near the bottom of the cavern - they have a special chamber next to the supports of the...gun thing."

"Guess we're going down there next," nodded Amethyst, taking the sword from Peridot and cutting the ropes, "Where'd they get these ropes, anyway?"

"They nicked 'em from our stores, the bleedin' thieves," grunted another crewman - an engineer, apparently.

"Okay, you're free," said Amethyst as she finished cutting the ropes, "There's a tunnel out of here back the way we came. We'll get the others and meet you there."

"Understood," nodded Rollins, "Mr. Moray, take up the rear. We're getting out of here!"

"Aye sir!"

As the captives headed back the way Peridot and Amethyst had come, the two gems walked over to the edge of a cliff, looking over the gun again.

"Alright, how do we get down..." mused Peridot.

"Peri, look!"

Amethyst pointed down to a small platform at the bottom of the cavern. A fight had clearly broken out - dozens of Rubies were engaged with a variety of figures, and they soon realised that these were the other Crystal Gems. Pearl, Garnet and Lapis were heavily engaged - Steven was using his shield to cover Connie and Greg from attack, but it seemed to be buckling under the force of several Rubies.

"We need to help them!" said Peridot, rather redundantly.

"I know, I know, let me think," nodded Amethyst, holding her head and pacing.

"Ames?"

"Peridot, take the sword to Steven and try to help them," she said at last, "I'll get the passengers and meet you on the platform."

"But-"

"Just go!" shouted Amethyst, taking a running leap off the side of the cliff.

Peridot watched her disappear, dismay on her face.

" _Darn._ "

* * *

Steven hunched and held his shield against the three Rubies that thrashed against it with their firsts. Not far away, Garnet was engaged in combat with Topaz and Blue Quartz, as Pearl and Lapis kept the rest of the Rubies away from her.

"Steven, we have to help them!" exclaimed Connie.

"No, they'll be fine!" replied Greg, his tone agitated, "Just stay safe!"

With a crash, Pearl was thrown to the ground in front of them, a Ruby planting her foot on her head.

"Stay down, Crystal Gem!" she growled.

Pearl groaned but pushed the Ruby off her head, grabbing her spear and heading back into the fray.

"Dad, they need us!" said Steven, "They're outnumbered!"

"You only have a shield!" Greg pointed out, "If you go out there, you..."

" _Aaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhh!_ "

With a loud crash, Peridot slammed into the ground behind them. The Rubies thrashing against Steven's shield looked up in surprise, and their brief lapse of concentration allowed Lapis to sweep them off with a wave of water.

"Peridot?" exclaimed Greg, "I thought you were still on the _Discovery_?!"

"I'll explain later!" replied Peridot, "Here, I got this for you!"

She held Rose's sword up.

"Where's Amethyst?" asked Steven.

"Oh, you know, saving the rest of the passengers from evil Homeworld gems," shrugged Peridot, "Normal Crystal Gem stuff."

"Eh, fair enough," shrugged Steven as Connie grabbed the sword.

"Are you sure you have to do this?" asked Greg, "I...yeah, of course you do. Just be careful, okay?"

Steven nodded and turned to Connie.

"Are you ready?" he asked.

"Let's do this," nodded Connie.

They joined hands.

Topaz was keeping her focus tightly on Garnet. She swung her axe down on the larger Gem's head, only for her to move her head out of the way and dodge to the side. She clenched her teeth and charged, swinging the axe towards her neck.

Her eyes widened as the shield stopped her.

Stevonnie held their shield in front of Garnet, staring Topaz down as they deflected the battleaxe away. Topaz' jaw dropped and she gasped.

"You...Gem...human... _what?!_ " she spluttered.

"Yeah, have a think about it," replied Stevonnie, thrusting their sword towards Topaz. With a burst of smoke, she vanished, and Stevonnie took her gem in their hand. They bubbled it quickly and turned to Blue Quartz.

"Impressive," said Blue Quartz, holding up a lance, "But I'm afraid I'll have to stop you."

"Why?" demanded Stevonnie, "You don't have to do this! You don't even sound like you _want_ to do this!"

"I don't," replied Blue Quartz, "But I have my orders."

Garnet stepped up.

"Shall we?" she asked, glancing at Stevonnie.

"Yeah," they nodded.

Simultaneously, they swung punches into Blue Quartz' face, knocking her down onto the support platform of the giant gun.

* * *

Amethyst jumped down the sides of the cavern, landing outside an opening to a cavern just next to the gun supports. Two Rubies and a quartz soldier were standing guard outside - they jumped and sprung to defensive stances as the Crystal Gem arrived.

"Halt!" bellowed the soldier.

"Nah, not feeling it," replied Amethyst.

She swung her whip, wrapping it around the three guards and flinging them into the wall. She didn't wait for them to get up again, running into the cavern.

A brief way into the rocky tunnel, she emerged into a long, narrow room. A Sapphire stood next to another gem that Amethyst didn't recognise - tall, four-armed and thin, thinner even than Pearl, and covered in a hooded cloak that hid her eyes. Next to them, two quartz guards were holding Captain Student and First Officer Stokes down - right in front of the ranked masses of the entranced passengers and crew of the _Discovery_.

"You promised me my crew wouldn't be harmed!" shouted Captain Student.

"Yes," nodded the Sapphire, "And that promise was made without the intention of following through. To put it simply, _we lied._ "

"Well, if you can't trust your captors, who can you trust?" said Martin dryly.

"Quite," said the Sapphire, "Rhodochrosite, you may sing."

The cloaked Gem opened her mouth. The same echoing melody that had entranced the crew of the _Discovery_ began to sound in the cavern.

" _Sing?_ What is this, _Britain Has Aptitude?_ " scoffed Martin, "Is this supposed to...Fred?"

Captain Student's eyes had glazed over and his jaw sagged.

"Oh, _fantastic_ , they only had to be mind-control aliens, didn't they?"

"He seems to be immune," noted the Sapphire, "Soldier?"

The quartz soldier holding Martin drew her energy rifle.

At that point, Amethyst quite literally rolled into the room, slamming into the soldier and running her down. As she bounced into the air from the hit, Amethyst left her ball and cracked her whip towards the second soldier, slamming her in the head and poofing her. She landed on the ground between Martin and the other two Gems, whip ready.

"Sorry I'm late," she said cockily.

The Sapphire frowned.

"It doesn't matter if you win here today," she said bluntly, "I see terrible things in your future. The Gem Empire will win, regardless of what happens to Providence."

"What're you talking about?" demanded Amethyst.

The Sapphire sneered.

"I see the Peridot in the future," she replied, "I wonder what you will do when she is _inevitably_ shattered. Do y-"

Amethyst punched the Sapphire square in the face, knocking her straight to the ground.

"I think I prefer our Sapphire," she snapped.

She turned to the singing Rhodochrosite and clenched her fist again.

"Sorry, dude," she said, "But your song's finished."

She swung her fist into the Rhodochrosite's head.

* * *

Blue Quartz jabbed her lance towards Stevonnie, who deflected it with their sword. A split second later, the Providence gem jumped over a punch from Garnet and swung the side of the lance into the side of her head, knocking her to the side.

Garnet recovered quickly, charging towards her opponent. Stevonnie held their shield above their head, allowing Garnet to use it as a jumping point. She leapt into the air, bringing her fists down on Blue Quartz. The other gem was thrown back, slamming into one of the gun supports and visibly denting it.

"Ugh...nice form," nodded Blue Quartz, climbing to her feet, "But I'm not done yet."

" _Warning! Warning! Enthrallment of human labour has been interrupted. All non-combat gems are advised to retreat immediately_."

Alarms began to sound all around as, one by one, the human slaves seemed to snap out of their trances.

"That'll be Amethyst," said Garnet, smirking.

"I told Red Beryl we needed more guards in that cavern," grunted Blue Quartz, rubbing her temples.

"Garnet! Stevonnie!"

Pearl and Greg were leaning over the side of the control platform, calling down to the two fusions.

"The slaves just woke up!" called Greg, "What do we do with them?"

"Get them out of here!" replied Garnet.

"But how?" demanded Pearl.

"I know a way out!" said Peridot, running up to the ledge, "Follow me!"

Garnet jerked backwards as Blue Quartz grabbed her in a headlock.

"Oh no you don't," she snapped, "We're not finished."

Stevonnie glanced from Blue Quartz to the other Crystal Gems. Their expression hardened.

"Get out of here!" they yelled, "We'll catch up!"

"But..."

"Just go!"

They turned around, holding their sword at the ready. Garnet swung a punch at Blue Quartz' head and struggled out of her grip, jumping to her fellow fusion's side.

"Alright, here's how this is gonna go," snapped Stevonnie, "We're taking down that gun, even if we have to poof you to do it."

"For Providence," snarled Blue Quartz.

"For Earth," replied Garnet calmly.

And with that, they charged each other.

* * *

AN: and then the fright began!


	14. Chapter Thirteen

Well, I suppose once a month is _sort of_ a consistent schedule. Sorry for the delay (again).

Guest review replies;

 **SilverG:** Right or wrong, she's definitely a jerk. Thanks for reading!

 **Guest:** Why thank you, that's very nice to hear! Glad you like it!

* * *

 **Thirteen**

Blue Quartz thrust her lance towards Stevonnie. They ducked under the attack, swinging their sword at the attacking gem's feet. Blue Quartz jumped over the attack and swing the lance down onto Stevonnie's head, knocking them onto their back.

She was about to plunge the sharp end of the lance into their head when Garnet leapt into the fray, punching her across the face and knocking her off the other fusion. Blue Quartz slammed into one of the support struts of the massive gun, visibly denting it. She quickly recovered, leaping back towards Garnet, striking her face and sending her visor flying.

Garnet quickly recovered, swinging her fist into Blue Quartz' face. Her opponent grabbed her arm before she could make contact and flipped her over her shoulder, slamming her into the ground. She then sidestepped a charge from Stevonnie and grabbed their hair, pulling their back.

"Rule number one," she growled, "Keep dangling things your opponent can grab to a minimum."

"Rule number two," replied Stevonnie.

They elbowed Blue Quartz in the face and kicked her off their back.

"Don't lecture people in the middle of a fight," they finished.

Blue Quartz stumbled back, stepping unwittingly towards Garnet. The fusion grabbed her in a headlock and swung her into yet another support.

The supports of the gun groaned audibly. Slowly but surely, the massive contraption began to lean.

* * *

Klaxons sounded loudly in Red Beryl's Tower. Troops ran back and forth to take up their stations, preparing to reinforce the soldiers inside the gun chamber. A Ruby was nervously giving a report on the situation to the Supreme Leader herself, struggling to stay still and attention as she relayed the bad news.

"We-we've confirmed that the Lapis Lazuli and her entourage are probably dissidents," she explained, "We have a f-full scale breakout in the chamber and the structural integrity of the Atmospheric Attack System has been severely compromised."

"Unfortunate, certainly," nodded Red Beryl, "Funnel reinforcements into the volcano. We'll smash them with superior firepower."

"What about the slaves, Supreme Leader?" asked the Ruby.

"The _labour_ ," replied Red Beryl, "Can be replaced. Is there anything else?"

"J-just one thing," said the Ruby, "I've been asked to recommend t-that we immediately evacuate non-essential-"

Red Beryl grabbed the Ruby by the neck, lifting her up. Her eyes seemed to burn with rage.

"There will be _no_ evacuation," she snarled, "If Providence cannot defeat a few rebels and _unarmed_ humans, it does not deserve to continue to exist. Stop them or _perish_."

"Su-Supreme Leader, we c-can't just leave noncombat gems to-"

Red Beryl grabbed the Ruby's gem with her other hand and began to squeeze.

"I will not," she growled, "Be lectured by the _common soldiery_."

There was a loud crack, and the Ruby burst into smoke. Red Beryl opened her fist, looking down at the tiny shards in her hand. She tossed them scornfully to the ground.

"Victory or destruction," she spat.

* * *

" _Atmospheric Attack System will fire in three minutes. All hands, man your stations._ "

"Everybody out! There's a tunnel that leads to the island that way, now move!"

Pearl, Greg and Peridot were waving escaping slaves up towards the tunnel to the surface. Next to them, Amethyst and Lapis fought off the various Rubies and quartz soldiers that attempted to intercept them.

"We've got three minutes until that thing fires, what do we do?" exclaimed Greg.

"Keep getting people out," replied Pearl, "There's nothing we can do from up here."

"Garnet can handle it!" added Peridot.

She blinked.

"Probably," she added.

Captain Student and Martin ran up to them, the former waving his hands.

"Nobody else behind us," he said, "You can make a run for it now."

"Not everybody," replied Pearl.

She pointed behind them. Red Pearl was sitting against a wall, head in her hands and visibly shaking.

"Um, ma'am?" said Captain Student, "I don't know if we have time for..."

Pearl ignored, running back to her red counterpart. She knelt down next to her and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Come on, we need to leave," she said.

"I-I didn't know about this they didn't tell me anything I didn't know!" rambled Red Pearl.

"It's okay, it's not your fault," said Pearl, "Let's get you out of here..."

"But...but Red Beryl says..."

" _Forget Red Beryl!_ " replied Pearl, "You are your _own gem_! You can be more than Red Beryl's window dressing! And yeah, leaving is going to be scary, and I know how that feels, but think of all the things you could be if you just took that leap!"

Red Beryl looked up at Pearl. Tears filled her eyes.

"And what if I can't do it?" she asked.

"Well, you won't know unless you try," replied Pearl, offering her hand to help her up.

Red Beryl hesitated for a moment. Then she swallowed and took her hand.

" _Atmospheric Attack System will fire in one minute. Clear back-blast._ "

"...well, we should probably get moving," nodded Pearl, helping Red Pearl to her feet.

"Everybody run!" bellowed Peridot, bolting for the exit tunnel, "Small gems first!"

* * *

" _Atmospheric Attack System at 50% structural integrity. Evacuation of chamber recommended._ "

Blue Quartz snarled as she hurled Stevonnie into the ground, quickly punting them into the gun supports before they could recover. This left her unable to respond to Garnet's attack from behind, and she was forced into the ground by her fist.

" _Atmospheric Attack System will fire in forty-five seconds._ "

"I'm sorry," said Blue Quartz, "But you're too late."

Garnet growled and turned to Stevonnie, who was pushing themself off the ground in the corner.

"Stevonnie!" she called, "We need to shut down the gun!"

"How do we do that?" Stevonnie called back.

Garnet looked around, noticing the damage to the supports of the weapon.

"The supports!" she called back, "We knock it down!"

If you want to do that," growled Blue Quartz, climbing to her feet, "You'll have to go through _me._ "

Garnet narrowed her eyes.

"With pleasure."

She lunged forward, grabbing Blue Quartz by the arm. She began to spin on the spot, lifting the big quartz into the air and gathering momentum.

"Get your shield ready!" shouted Garnet.

Stevonnie nodded, preparing their shield and pointing it towards Garnet and Blue Quartz.

With a roar, Garnet threw Blue Quartz towards the other fusion. With a mighty crash, she connected with their shield and was deflected towards the upper supports of the gun. There was a tremendous cacophony as she crashed through the vital girders, tearing them apart as she flew through the chamber. With another crash and a plume of dust, she landed on the cavern floor.

The gun buckled and began to tilt.

"It's coming down!" exclaimed Stevonnie, "We did it!"

" _Warning: AAS structure is critically damaged. Power systems incorrectly rerouted. Weapon will explode imminently. Evacuate the chamber immediately._ "

"We need to go," said Garnet, "Stevonnie, grab my arm!"

Stevonnie nodded, grabbing onto Garnet's outstretched arm. In a flash, she darted upwards, out of the pit and towards the exit.

Behind them, Blue Quartz groaned and opened her eyes, looking up at the slowly collapsing weapon. She sighed heavily, but smiled despite herself.

"Good fight," she muttered, "That was...a good fight."

She closed her eyes.

"I wish them luck."

A large girder fell from above and slammed into her, poofing her instantly.

* * *

Garnet darted from rock to rock as debris filled the air, narrowly dodging fragments of both the gun and the rocky cavern. The tunnel out drew closer and closer.

"We're gonna make it!" exclaimed Stevonnie.

There was a thunderous crash as a large rock fell onto the tunnel entrance, blocking it completely.

"Oh no, I jinxed it!" cried Stevonnie.

Garnet stopped in front of the rock, looking for another exit. She looked up and nodded to herself.

"Hang on," she said.

"Where are we going?" asked Stevonnie.

" _Up._ "

She leapt upwards, darting along the stony cliff-face as she headed to her destination - the mouth of the volcano.

" _Atmospheric Attack System will explode momentarily._ "

"Garnet!" exclaimed Stevonnie.

"We'll make it," said Garnet calmly.

There was a loud bang below them, louder than anything Stevonnie had ever heard. Less than a second later, Garnet crested the mouth of the volcano into daylight, leaping down the side without even a second glance. Behind her, a massive plume of red fire erupted into the sky.

* * *

To say the destruction of the Atmospheric Attack System was catastrophic would be to put it mildly.

A plume of flame burst from the cavern into the underwater city of Providence, smashing everything and poofing everyone in its path. The city was just about flattened, leaving little but floating gemstones in its wake. In just a few seconds, the City on the Hill had been levelled by its own hubris.

The blast-wave ended just short of the _Discovery_ , which still lay on the sea floor and was still mostly unharmed.

Floating among the wreckage, alone, unharmed and very, _very_ angry, Red Beryl looked at her gauntlets and clenched her fists. The gauntlets began to glow - so too did the multitude of gems floating around her.

"Providence," she growled, "Come to me..."

* * *

The escaped passengers and crew of the _Discovery_ , joined by the slaves of Providence, looked up at the flume of fire in the sky.

"That is one heck of a fireworks display," Sour Cream said to himself.

With a loud thump, Garnet and Stevonnie landed next to them. Garnet put down the other fusion and dusted herself off.

"Nailed it," she said.

Stevonnie glowed white and immediately defused, replaced by an exhausted Steven and Connie.

"That was...that was intense," panted Connie.

"Dad!" exclaimed Steven, running over to his father.

"Steven!" cried Greg, hugging his son tightly.

Around them, more joyful reunions were taking place. Kiki and Jenny hugged. So did Buck and Sour Cream. Lars - who still looked incredibly seasick and miserable - was embraced tightly by Sadie.

"Um...I don't mean to interrupt the whole 'glad to be alive sentiment'," said Martin, raising a hand to attract attention, "But...how are we getting off this island? They sunk our ship, remember?"

"Oh, I'm sure we'll think of something," replied Lapis, smirking as she made an orb of water in her hand.

* * *

AN: 'Tis a lot of poofed them, that is. We might need another room for them.


	15. Chapter Fourteen

What's this? A _prompt_ update? Wow!

Guest review replies;

 **SilverG:** Yeah, you may be right there. :P Thanks for reading!

 **Guest:** Thanks very much!

* * *

 **Fourteen**

Captain Student had to admit, he was impressed.

Lapis was standing on the beach, both arms extended. In the distance, the massive hull of the _Discovery_ was slowly emerging from the ocean, like a majestic and incredible ungainly whale. By the looks of it, save for a broken window on the bridge, it was mostly undamaged and certainly seaworthy.

"I'm glad their shielding still seems to be working," he said, "Otherwise the ocean would have crushed this ship seventy times over by now.

"At this point, I'm just not questioning anything," shrugged Martin.

Behind them, Steven, Connie and Todd stood at the treeline. Lieutenant Forest and the escaped slaves stood in the trees, watching the passengers and crew mingle on the beach.

"So we're just going to leave them?" asked Connie.

"They don't seem to want to leave," shrugged Todd, "And we don't have anywhere near enough crew to force them to. Besides, the food here is abundant, and at least now they don't have to worry about loneliness."

He waved to Lieutenant Forest.

"You're happy here, aren't you?"

Lieutenant Forest, who was sniffing some bushes for food, cried out and gave a thumbs up.

"Do you think Red Beryl's mind control changed them?" asked Connie, nervously.

"It's likely," replied Todd, "I don't think that technique was ever meant to be used on humans. Give them time, maybe they'll recover."

"Maybe it's human corruption," mused Steven.

"Pardon?" asked Todd.

"Nothing," said Steven.

Todd shrugged and turned around, walking back up the beach. Steven and Connie chased after him.

"Wait!" exclaimed Connie.

"Hmm?" Todd said, turning around.

"We never found out what your deal was," said Connie, her voice stern, "You know, with _Fabien Sun?_ "

Todd sighed, nursing his temples as he did so.

"You overheard his little talk before the ship left, did you?" he sighed.

"Uh...well, _bits of it,_ " shrugged Connie.

"Sun wanted me to sabotage the engines when we reached the island," said Todd, looking at his feet, "Write off the ship without sinking it. He was banking on getting the insurance money."

"Why would he do that?" asked Connie.

"White Sun is in debt," replied Todd, " _Badly_ in debt. Funnily enough, it turns out we can't compete with airliners. If Sun can't pay his debts, the bank are going to come after him. And let me tell you, you do not want debtors like his getting angry at you."

"And what was in it for you?" asked Connie.

"I don't lose my job," shrugged Todd, "I have a family, I couldn't just sit on my hands waiting for White Sun to go under."

He shook his head.

"If I'd said no, we'd never have been routed past this island," he sighed, "I ought to be locked up for this."

There was a long silence.

"Well...if we hadn't gone this way, they might have destroyed Washington," shrugged Steven.

"Eh, maybe," grunted Todd.

He sighed and walked away.

"Wow, I thought he was some kind of villainous henchman," said Connie, "But he's not even close to the worst thing going around on this island."

There was a loud clunk from up the beach. Lapis had finished raising the _Discovery_ and had used the remaining water under her control to move the ships lifeboats onto the water's edge. The passengers and crew around her cheered - save for one outlier.

"It isn't _that_ impressive," grunted Farthington.

"With powers like that," exclaimed the oil prospector, stepping out of the crowd, "I do declare you'd be excellent at finding oil! You fancy a job, ma'am? I can..."

"No," said Lapis, bluntly.

"Fair 'nuff."

"Well," said the Captain, rubbing his hands together, "I reckon that's all she wrote. Let's get on this ship and leave this nightmare behind."

"All in favour of heading straight back to Drake's Bay?" asked Martin.

"Aye," most of the passengers chorus.

" _Nay!_ " exclaimed Farthington, "I paid for a full voyage and I will have my money's worth, do you hear me?"

"Ayes have it, Drake's Bay it is," nodded Captain Student.

" _What?!_ I'll have you know, _Captain_ , that I am a shareholder in the White Sun Line, and I will have you reported for..."

Captain Student tuned him out as he began to load up the lifeboats.

* * *

The deck of the _Discovery_ was a hive of activity. Officers and crew ran to and fro, preparing the ship for an immediate departure. Those passengers who hadn't immediately made for their cabins either milled about on the bow of the ship or did what they could to help the overworked and hurried crew.

Captain Student walked along the port side of the ship, shouting orders to the ship's officers as he did.

"Mr. Stokes, Ms. Emerson, I want you in the bridge with me as soon as your current tasks are done," he called, "Mr. Todd, oversee the engineers below. Mr. Rollins, see to the passengers. Mr. Jackson, you're on stern lookout. I want us ready to leave within five minutes..."

Amethyst and Garnet leaned over the port rail as the Captain walked past, looking out over the island.

"Heck of a day, huh Garnet?" said Amethyst.

Garnet nodded.

"Heck of a day," she agreed.

There was a brief silence.

"You did well today, Amethyst," said Garnet at last.

"Aw, not really..." said Amethyst.

"Yes, really," replied Garnet, "Without you, none of the passengers would have been freed, and Stevonnie wouldn't have had her sword to beat Topaz and Blue Quartz. Not to mention breaking the mind control."

"Well, I couldn't have done any of that without Peridot," shrugged Amethyst.

"But you were the one who took the lead," reminded Garnet, putting a hand on Amethyst's shoulder, "You should give yourself credit on this one."

Amethyst grunted but gave Garnet a small smile.

"Where is Peridot, anyway?" asked Garnet, "We didn't leave her on the island, right?"

"Nah, she's around," replied Amethyst, "I left her in her cabin with Steven and Connie."

"You didn't stay with them?" asked Garnet.

"No, _Officer G_ ," grunted Amethyst, "I just wanted some me-time."

There was a brief silence. Garnet made to walk away.

"Wait, Garnet!"

Garnet turned around.

"You...you're pretty much made of _love_ , right G?"

"Yes," said Garnet.

"Can you...can I ask..."

"Waves of the port stern!"

All eyes fell on a crewman who was pointing frantically over the railing. Captain Student and Martin immediately ran towards him.

"Jenkins?" asked Captain Student.

"Rippling waves and white water between us and the island," reported the crewman, "I think something's about to surface."

"Oh, that's just perfect," sighed Martin.

Captain Student grabbed his binoculars and gazed in the direction that the crewman was pointing. He narrowed his eyes.

"I don't like this," he said, "I'm accelerating departure. Martin, we're going straight to the bridge."

"Don't have to tell me twice," nodded Martin.

"Mr. Jenkins, tell me if anything..."

There was a thunderous roar and the ship shook.

"...please not now," whispered Captain Student, his face turning pale.

A few hundred meters from the port side of the ship, the sea was frothing and bubbling ominously. With the calamitous sound of rushing water, a hand slowly emerged from the deep.

The hand was red, and on its forearm there was a familiar gauntlet.

" _Red Beryl_ ," growled Garnet.

"But it can't be her!" exclaimed Amethyst, "That thing's _huge!_ "

With a massive splash of water, a second hand rose out of the water - it was followed by a head that slowly emerged from the sea. Furious eyes stared right at the _Discovery_ as Red Beryl's face was raised above the surf.

"Bridge," snapped Captain Student, " _Now._ "

He and Martin bolted for the bridge without another word.

Behind Garnet and Amethyst, a door opened. Pearl and Lapis emerged from the ship, gasping as they looked up at the giant form of Red Beryl as she emerged. She was huge - twice the height of the _Discovery_ \- and her eyes were pupil-less and ran with the colours of every gem they'd seen that day, and even some they hadn't. She sneered as she towered over the ship.

" _Discovery,_ " she snarled, her voice shaking the seas, "No ordinary gems could have destroyed my city...you house the _Crystal Gems._ "

She clenched both her fists.

" _And they will pay for what they have done,_ " she said.

She roared.

Garnet glanced towards Pearl.

"Pearl, you're with me," she said.

Pearl swallowed and nodded.

"Lapis," added Garnet, "Keep the ship afloat."

"Alright," nodded Lapis.

"Let's do this," nodded Garnet.

She and Pearl ran for the stern of the ship, and Lapis headed off for the bridge. Amethyst was left alone.

"Hey, wait a minute!" exclaimed Amethyst, "What do I do?"

She growled and shook her head.

"I-I guess I'll look after Steven or whatever!" she called, running back into the ship.

With another deafening roar, Red Beryl began to stride across the water. She was heading straight for the _Discovery_.

* * *

AN: This is it! Final battle time!


	16. Chapter Fifteen

My Prompt Updating Schedule(TM) strikes again!

Guest review replies;

 **Guest:** Well, sort of. Most her her power comes from status, but you'll see what's up with her shortly. Thanks for reading!

 **SilverG:** We can do worse than that! Let's invite the Kraken along, too! Thanks for reviewing!

* * *

 **Fifteen**

The door to the bridge flew open, and Captain Student, Stokes and Emerson raced inside. Lapis followed just behind as the First Officer grabbed the wheel.

"All ahead, Mr. Stokes!" thundered Student, "Get some distance between ourselves and that island!"

"Aye sir!" replied Stokes, pushing the lever next to the wheel to full steam.

The ship lurched suddenly. Captain Student and Lapis looked out the window to port - the waves were getting choppy and the wind was quickly picking up.

"I don't suppose that's natural," grunted the Captain.

The ship lurched again and he nearly lost his footing.

"Look, you can control water, right?" he said, turning to Lapis, "Can you keep the ship upright?"

Lapis nodded, raising her arms. The ship lurched back to port, stabilising momentarily in the waters.

"Hold on," she warned, "This is going to get bumpy."

* * *

" _All hands, man your stations, we have a Code Red. I repeat, all hands, man your stations..._ "

Amethyst ran into the corridor, ducking and weaving past members of the ship's crew heading to their posts. She skidded to a halt outside Steven's cabin and barged inside.

Steven and Connie were gazing out the window, while Greg was stumbling about the cabin, trying to stay upright as the ship rocked about.

"Guys, we've gotta do something!" she exclaimed.

"Amethyst!" exclaimed Steven, turning around, "Look at this!"

Amethyst ran up to the window, peering through it. A large figure was standing in the water in front of Red Beryl, both pairs of arms crossed.

" _Fusion_ ," snarled Red Beryl, her voice booming across the waves.

"I believe you'll find that the name is _Sardonyx_ ," replied Sardonyx, holding her finger up at her adversary, "And I don't believe you have a ticket to board this ship."

"I will shatter you and spread your remains across this ocean," growled Red Beryl.

"Well, that banter was _pointed_ but not exactly very _witty_ ," said Sardonyx, "But don't worry, I can teach you better. Now, pay attention."

She leapt into the air, grabbing Red Beryl by the head and somersaulting over her, using her momentum to flip her over her shoulders. The big gem slammed into the ocean, causing an enormous splash.

"The trick is," smirked Sardonyx, "To be a little less _dry_."

She laughed as Red Beryl climbed to her feet.

"Less dry?" she snorted, "Oh, I do that..."

She thrust out her arms. A massive wave of water burst from the sea like a knife. It narrowly missed Sardonyx as she leapt out of the way and crashed into the side of the ship, causing it to pitch violently to starboard and knocking everybody off of their feet.

"We've gotta do something!" yelled Amethyst, climbing to her feet.

"Are you kidding?" exclaimed Greg, "She's fifty feet tall! How would we even _scratch_ her?"

"The gauntlet," said Connie.

"What?" asked Steven.

"Her gauntlet, Steven!" exclaimed Connie, "It might be the source of her power! I mean, by the looks of it she's absorbed all the Gems in providence, right? If we break the gauntlet, we might force her to unabsorb them!"

"Okay, but how do we do that?" asked Steven.

"I think we need something _big_ ," suggested Amethyst.

"And probably steel," added Greg, "I mean, I don't remember much about science, but that gauntlet looks a lot like brass. And steel's stronger than brass, isn't it?"

"Somebody say something about metal?" asked Peridot, bursting into the room.

"Where the heck are we gonna find a massive chunk of steel?" demanded Amethyst.

Connie snapped her fingers.

"The railing!" she said, "We can use the one of the bars on the railing..."

"...and I can tie it up in my whip and hit her with it," nodded Amethyst, pounding palm into fist.

"But what if you miss?" asked Greg.

"She won't," replied Peridot, crossing her arms, "I can make sure of that."

The ship jerked again, and Greg fell on his back.

"Dad!" exclaimed Steven.

"I'm fine, son," grunted Greg, "Just...just let me catch my breath..."

Steven nodded.

"We'll be right back, dad," he said, "We've just gotta save the ship."

* * *

"Wave, starboard bow!" Second Officer Emerson bellowed.

"Hit it on the bow, Mr. Stokes!" shouted Captain Student.

Martin jerked the wheel to the right. The ship sluggishly turned towards the oncoming wave.

"We're not gonna make it!" shouted Emerson.

"Yes we are, just stay calm," replied the Captain.

"Wave to port!" shouted Martin, "It's a big one!"

"Can you manoeuvre against it?" asked the Captain.

"No sir!" replied Martin.

Captain Student turned to Lapis.

"Then it's down to you, Ms. Lazuli," he said.

Lapis turned to the left, facing down the huge wave coming towards them. She bared her teeth and raised her arms, stabilising the water underneath the ship. The wave approached regardless, and the force became hard for her to fight against.

"Keep steady or we capsize!" yelled Martin.

"I'm trying," said Lapis, visibly straining.

"Mr. Stokes, don't tell her how to do her job!" thundered the Captain, "Just do yours!"

He gazed at the wave as the ship began to shake dangerously.

"Come on, you can do it," he breathed.

* * *

The crewman broke open the lock of the weapons locker, throwing it open. Todd and Fourth Officer Rollins quickly stepped forward, passing the weapons inside out to the crew.

"If anything happens to the Crystal Gems, we're the last line of defence," shouted Rollins, "Regardless of what happens we are keeping the passengers safe! One weapon apiece, move on when you've got it!"

"We might as well spit on the thing," spat one of the stewards, looking disdainfully at the revolver he'd been handed.

"Then we'll go down spitting, Mr. Owens," snapped Todd, "Move to the deck, now!"

Owens shook his head and walked away. As he did, Sadie took his place, backed up by Sour Cream, Buck and the Pizza twins.

"We wanna help," said Sadie, "What can we do?"

"Sorry ma'am," replied Todd, "If I gave you a Tommy Gun, the captain would kill me."

He looked back into the weapons locker.

"Then again..."

He reached in and produced a harpoon, handing it to Sadie.

"A harpoon isn't a gun, I guess," he shrugged.

"Excuse me! Third Officer! I demand an explanation!"

Everyone groaned as Farthington marched down the corridor, face red and fists clenched.

"You told me this crisis was over!" he thundered, "Now I find this ship under attack _again!_ Are really so utterly _incompetent_ that you couldn't permanently deal with this the _first time?_ When we get back to port, I am going straight to your Congress and having you all..."

" ** _SHUT UP!_** "

With great force, Sadie punched the rich man across the face. He dropped instantly, like a puppet whose strings had been cut.

Sadie turned around, looking back at the stunned crew.

"Did anybody see that?" she demanded.

"See what?" asked Rollins.

"Didn't see a thing," said Todd.

"Good," nodded Sadie, "Now let's get on deck."

She strode purposefully away, the teens following after her. For a moment, Buck stopped to look down on the unconscious businessman.

"That was cathartic," he nodded.

He walked away, shrugging.

* * *

Steven, Connie, Amethyst and Peridot burst onto the deck of the ship. Not far away and dangerously close to the ship, Red Beryl and Sardonyx brawled, their battle creating waves in the sea and rocking the ocean liner.

"Give up!" snarled Red Beryl, "You're facing the combined might of the entire city of Providence. You can't win!"

"It's nothing on Empire City," shrugged Sardonyx.

"Your fate is inevitable!" thundered Red Beryl.

"Oh, _please_ ," snorted Sardonyx, "The only inevitable things are death, taxes and..."

She swung her hammer into Red Beryl's face, knocking her over.

"... _hard knocks_ ," she finished.

Steven whooped.

Red Beryl climbed to her feet again.

"Why stand up for these... _pond scum?_ " she demanded, "What is your fascination with the humans? They're barbarians!"

"Tsk, such ugly language," sighed Sardonyx, "I'm afraid I'm going to have to _bring the hammer down..._ "

She hefted her hammer over her head and swung it down on Red Beryl. The other gem quickly reached up and grabbed it before it could hit her face.

"If you can't use weapons responsibly," she snarled, "They'll have to be taken away from you."

She snatched the hammer, swinging it around and thrusting it back at Sardonyx. With a sickening crash, it swung into her face, cracking her visor and throwing her down into the currents.

"Sardonyx!" exclaimed Steven.

Connie ran up to the railing, pointing to one of the bars.

"Somebody get this thing off!" she exclaimed.

Amethyst drew her whip, hurling it forth and snagging the bar. With a hefty tug, she pulled it free.

Steven and Connie looked over to the fight. Sardonyx was down, clearly barely holding together as Red Beryl brought her own hammer down on her again and again. Steven winced and clenched his fists.

"Alright, we've only got one shot at this," said Connie, swallowing, "Amethyst, Peridot - you ready?"

The two gems nodded. Amethyst swung her whip over her head, building up momentum to throw. Peridot held up her hands, preparing to target the steel bar when it was released.

"Now!" yelled Steven.

Amethyst let go of the whip, sending it flying towards the enormous Gem. Next to her, Peridot concentrated carefully as she controlled it's flight through the air.

It hurtled through the air, everybody holding their breath.

Closer...

...closer...

...closer...

...and then...

...it missed.

* * *

AN: On the bright side, somebody punched Farthington. Glass half full, you know?


	17. Chapter Sixteen

The big climax arrives!

Guest review replies;

 **SilverG:** Yeah, let's be real here, you got that in one. Thanks for reading!

 **Guest:** I understand that, but Red Beryl herself has absorbed a few Lapis' with her gauntlet, which makes her a match for our Lapis in this department. Thanks for reviewing!

* * *

 **Sixteen**

" _How did you miss?!_ "

"It was a small target! And I panicked!"

Steven, Connie, Amethyst and Peridot gazed over the side of the _Discovery_ , watching in horror as Red Beryl registered the missed projectile.

Red Beryl looked towards the _Discovery,_ her lips thinning as she narrowed her eyes.

" _O...kay_ we definitely made her mad," said Connie, swallowing.

Red Beryl stood up, turning towards the ship. She dropped Sardonyx' hammer into the sea and clenched her fists.

"If you desire so much to be sunk," she growled, "Then sunk you shall be."

"Oh no you d..."

Red Beryl turned around and grabbed Sardonyx by the neck, lifting her into the air. Her gauntlet glowed, and ropes of water emerged from the sea, entangling her arms and legs.

" _You_ ," snarled Red Beryl, "You will watch this."

She turned away from her, looking towards the _Discovery_.

"Okay, this...this is bad," said Steven, shaking his head.

Red Beryl raised her arms. Behind her, a massive wave began to form, growing larger and larger as she began to walk slowly towards the _Discovery._

* * *

Captain Student mopped his brow as the port wave died down. He turned to Lapis, allowing himself a small smile.

"How are you handling this, Ms. Lazuli?" he asked.

"I...I think I can handle it," replied Lapis, clutching her head with one hand, "Just give me a second..."

" _Rogue wave to starboard!_ " bellowed Emerson.

The Captain and Lapis gazed to the starboard side of the ship. Student turned pale as he looked at the size of the wave Red Beryl was creating.

"You...you can stop that one too, right?" asked Martin.

"I...she's got the combined strength of dozens of Lapis'," replied Lapis, "I don't know...I don't know if I can..."

She swallowed hard.

"I'll try," she said.

"Good luck, ma'am," said Martin.

They watched as the gem and the wave came closer and closer.

* * *

"All armed crew to the Main Deck, starboard side!" thundered Third Officer Todd, "Line up against the rail!"

Steven, Connie, Amethyst and Peridot watched as much of the crew of the _Discovery_ raced onto the deck, aiming their weapons towards the approaching Red Beryl. Fourth Officer Rollins gazed at her through a set of binoculars.

"A hundred yards and closing!" he yelled.

"One hundred yards and closing!" bellowed Todd, drawing his revolver, "Open fire!"

The deck was swept with the sound of loud bangs as the crew opened fire. The small bullets made contact with Red Beryl's enormous form but failed to make any appreciable impact on the advancing gem.

"Fifty yards and closing!" shouted Rollins, "We're nearly out of time!"

"Hey! Big Red!"

Sadie moved to the front of the crew, aiming the harpoon towards Red Beryl.

" _From heck's heart,_ " she yelled, " _I stab at thee!_ "

She fired the harpoon. It hit Red Beryl in the gem but failed to dent it.

Red Beryl narrowed her eyes.

"My turn," she snapped.

She punched the water with great force, creating a shockwave that slammed into the ship. The _Discovery_ rocked from side to side, and the crew were knocked off their feet. Sadie's harpoon fell out of her hands, bouncing down the deck towards Peridot.

"You are powerless to stop me," said Red Beryl, "All of you will be consigned to the deep. Providence will be avenged. It ends _here_."

"Keep firing!" exclaimed Todd, "Go down spitting!"

Peridot looked down at the harpoon, kneeling down to pick it up. She narrowed her eyes as she studied it.

Then she turned to Amethyst.

"Amethyst," she said, "I have an idea."

* * *

Lapis was kneeling on the bridge of the _Discovery_ , clutching her head.

"I-I'm sorry," she cried, "I can't stop her...I can't..."

"It's alright, you did your best," said Martin.

He and Captain Student looked up at the wave that now towered over them, ready to come down.

"Well, Martin," said Captain Student, "It's been a pleasure."

"Likewise, Fred, likewise."

* * *

Sour Cream, Buck, Jenny and Kiki gazed up at the wave from the Main Deck.

"Well, I never really thought I'd die like this," said Sour Cream.

"How did you think you'd die?" asked Jenny.

"Freak subwoofer accident," shrugged Sour Cream.

"So," said Kiki, "Anybody got anything to say?"

"I wish I'd told my dad..." began Buck.

"Yeah?" asked Kiki.

"It's just," said Buck, a single tear falling from behind his shades, "I wish I'd hugged him more."

Sour Cream put a hand on his shoulder.

* * *

Ronaldo and Peedee looked up at the oncoming wave from their cabin.

"Peedee," he said, "I just want to say...that the greatest unexplained phenomena of them all..."

He breathed sharply.

"...was my brotherly love for you."

"That's really sweet of you, Ronaldo," said Peedee, his eyes watering as he hugged his brother.

"It's like the bond between Koala Princess and her sister Possum Princess when they were fighting the King Bunyip in Nega-Canberra!" wept Ronaldo, "That scene was so relatable!"

Peedee sighed and patted Ronaldo's back.

* * *

Lars laid on the bed in his own cabin, still afflicted with terrible seasickness. He was so ill that he wasn't quite sure what was going on, and simply stared at the ceiling and made miserable groaning noises.

* * *

Greg sat on the bed in his cabin, looking at a picture of Rose in his wallet. He swallowed and rubbed his arm across his eyes.

"I'm sorry, Rose," he said, "I tried."

He breathed in and closed his eyes.

* * *

Back on the deck, Peridot was gesticulating wildly at the harpoon.

"We can use this projectile-launching device to aim some kind of weapon at the gauntlet!" she yelled, "That way we can precisely target it instead of relying on my usually excellent control of metal!"

"Okay, but what're we shooting at it?" asked Connie.

"We don't have time to find anything!" exclaimed Steven, "She's about to sink us!"

Amethyst grabbed her whip from her gem.

"Stick my whip in there!" she exclaimed, "We can shoot me into the gauntlet!"

"I beg your pardon?" asked Peridot, tilting her head.

"The harpoon'll give me airtime!" said Amethyst, "I can get high enough to reach the gauntlet and hit it with the whip!"

"But...but that's obscenely dangerous!" exclaimed Peridot, "If anything goes wrong - if you miss or she grabs you - you-you could be shattered! I can't let that happen, Amethyst!"

"Somebody has to, Peri," replied Amethyst, "Come on, we can't waste time arguing about this..."

"Then I'm coming too!" thundered Peridot.

There was a brief silence as Amethyst, Steven and Connie stared at Peridot in surprise. Slowly, Peridot offered her hand.

"What...what do you say?" she said nervously, "Wanna dance?"

Amethyst smiled and took her hand.

"Okay," she said, attaching the front of her whip to the harpoon, "Hold on."

"Wait!" exclaimed Connie, "If you're both going to be holding onto the harpoon, who's gonna be strong enough to actually fire it."

"Well, it's _my_ harpoon."

Sadie walked over and grabbed the harpoon from Amethyst, grinning as she aimed up at the gauntlet. Behind her, Malcolm Todd watched her prepare to fire.

"I don't have a good shot," cursed Sadie.

"I'll handle that," nodded Todd.

He aimed his gun up towards Red Beryl and opened fire.

"Hey, Beryl!" he yelled, "The ants are biting back!"

Red Beryl sneered. She clenched her fist and raised it.

"It won't matter if the ship is damaged before it's sunk," she declared, "And it's worth crushing an insolent, insubordinate little _worm_."

"Yeah?" said Todd, "Every dog has his day."

"Fire!" bellowed Peridot.

Everything seemed to happen at once.

Sadie fired the harpoon.

Red Beryl began to lower her fist.

The two small gems flew through the air, Peridot screaming as they did.

Amethyst swung her whip over her back, preparing to strike. Above her, the gauntlet dropped closer and closer.

Just before it hit, she swung her whip. The ship slammed upwards along Red Beryl's wrist, cutting a line right through the metallic surface.

Seeing an opportunity, Peridot stretched out an arm, pulling the gauntlet apart and lifting it off of Red Beryl's wrist.

There was a sudden flash of light. When it faded, Red Beryl was back to her normal size, screeching in rage as she fell onto the deck of the _Discovery_. The gauntlet, also back to normal, bounced onto the deck and landed at Fourth Officer Rollins' feet.

"Huh," he said, picking it up, "It _was_ brass."

Red Beryl turned to him. Her eyes seemed to ignite and her face twisted into an expression of pure rage.

"That is _my_ gauntlet, you insolent wretch!"

She roared as she lunged at the Fourth Officer.

 _Crash!_

Amethyst and Peridot had come crashing back to Earth - the later had gone into a spin dash on the way down and had landed on top of Red Beryl with great force, unceremoniously knocking her onto her face.

She rolled over weakly as Steven, Connie, Amethyst and Peridot advanced on her, followed by Sadie and the rest of the crew.

"Who..." Red Beryl snarled weakly, "Who do you people think you are?"

"We," replied Connie, "Are the Crystal Gems."

"And we just saved the day," added Peridot.

Amethyst brought her whip down hard, instantly poofing Red Beryl.

"Hey, nice one-liner," said Steven.

"Thanks, I've been practicing," beamed Peridot.

"Uh, guys?" interrupted Sadie, "I don't mean to ruin the moment, but...the wave?"

She pointed up. The wave was beginning to come down.

"Oh. Yeah," nodded Steven, " _That._ "

They screamed as the wave came crashing down. Steven closed his eyes.

The impact never came.

Steven opened his eyes, watching as the big wave came apart and gently returned to the sea. He looked up at the bridge, and could just about make out Lapis giving a thumbs up.

"You did it!" exclaimed Peridot, gesturing towards Amethyst.

"Come on, Peri, _we_ did it!" replied Amethyst, embracing Peridot in a tight hug.

"Yep, I reckon that went pretty well!" said Connie, beaming.

"I dunno, I was kinda hoping they were gonna fuse," shrugged Steven.

"Ah well, maybe another time," mused Connie.

"Ladies and gentlemen," declared Todd, "The ship is ours!"

The deck erupted with cheers.

* * *

AN: I reckon there's one more chapter left and then there'll be an epilogue! We're nearly done! And (vaguely) on time, mein gott!


	18. Chapter Seventeen

Well, here we are at the end at last. Sorry it's been delayed, I had two assessments due on the same day. Then I marathoned Freeman's Mind, which is less forgivable. Sorry.

Guest review replies;

 **SilverG:** Wait and see. :) Thanks for reading!

 **Abbie51304:** Heh, glad I got an emotional reaction there. :D Thanks for reviewing!

* * *

 **Seventeen**

The Captain and his crew had little time to celebrate the defeat of _Red Beryl_. As soon as the ship was out of sight of the island, Captain Student was bombarded by messages from other ships in the area looking for the liner - as it turns out, a large ship does not vanish from all forms of communication without attracting attention. The head of the search for the _Discovery_ was a stern and humourless Australian naval officer who had to be talked down over the radio from bringing his ship to _Discovery'_ s position and towing it right back with him to Sydney for questioning.

As the crew handled both this and repairing damage the ship had taken, the passengers were largely left to themselves.

Sardonyx had come back aboard as soon as Red Beryl had been poofed and had split back into Garnet and Pearl. The Crystal Gems and Greg were now gathered in Steven's cabin, discussing the day's events.

"Okay, just for future reference," sighed Greg, laying on his bed, "I'm never going on the ocean again."

"Agreed," muttered Amethyst, rubbing her hands through her hair.

"Oh, come on," scoffed Pearl, "You both said that after you watched that shark movie and _that_ didn't last..."

"Uh, Garnet?" asked Steven, "What's going to happen to all the Providence Gems?"

"They'll be bubbled," replied Garnet, "Most of them were too indoctrinated by Red Beryl to be reasoned with, at least for now."

"But maybe we can try to talk to them later?" said Steven hopefully.

Garnet smiled and ruffled his hair.

"Maybe," she said, "But that's going to have to wait."

"Hey, what happened to Red Pearl?" asked Connie, "Didn't she change sides?"

"I lost track of her when we were escaping the volcano," replied Garnet, "She's probably been poofed, just like everybody else."

"That's a shame," sighed Steven.

"Yes," said Pearl, sounding somewhat distracted, "If you'll all excuse me, I need to head out for a moment. I mean, I should probably call S..."

"Go ahead," nodded Garnet.

Pearl nodded and left the cabin.

"Steven, Connie, Amethyst, Peridot," continued Garnet, "I'm proud of you. If it hadn't been for your quick-thinking and bravery-"

"And Sadie's harpoon," added Steven.

"...and Sadie's harpoon," nodded Garnet, "We wouldn't be here right now. Rose Quartz would have been proud."

"And I'm proud too, Stu-ball," added Greg, ruffling Steven's hair.

"Wow, thanks!" said Peridot, "But logically speaking, if it hadn't been for Amethyst's proficiency with her whip, the plan would have completely failed."

" _Come on_ , Peri, you're the one who came up with the idea!" replied Amethyst, slapping Peridot on the back, "Don't sell yourself short..."

The two walked away.

"I think the harpoon saved us, actually," shrugged Lapis.

"Praise the harpoon," Garnet nodded stoically.

* * *

Pearl crept into the kitchen behind the grill. Much of it was in poor shape and it seemed unlikely that it would be back in operation before the ship returned to Drake's Bay. She found Fourth Officer Rollins standing by the door, looking ill-at-ease. He nodded to her, adjusting his tie.

"You know, I could get in a lot of trouble for this," he said.

"Nobody's going to find out, Mr. Rollins," replied Pearl, "I promise."

Rollins nodded.

"I'll leave you to it, ma'am," he said, leaving the room and closing the door behind him.

Pearl walked behind the pantry and knelt down next to the other occupant of the room. Red Pearl looked back her - she was dishevelled and clearly nervous. Pearl smiled and put a hand on her shoulder.

"You're sure you're not ready?" she asked.

Red Pearl swallowed and nodded.

"I...I'm sorry, I don't trust the other Gems," she replied.

Pearl nodded.

"You said you have somewhere for me to live?" asked Red Pearl.

"I have a friend I trust," replied Pearl, "You're going to be just fine..."

* * *

The days passed, and things returned to a semblance of normalcy.

Farthington was dragged to the ship's brig while he was still unconscious and charged with wantonly interfering with the ship's operations during a time of crisis. He would remain in lockup until the ship returned to port, and his later attempt to sue the Captain was thrown out by the court.

Malcolm Todd explained his actions to Captain Student. Both understood that Todd's actions were improper, but the Captain decided to forgive the Third Officer due to his invaluable assistance in the recent crisis. Both, alongside First Officer Stokes and Second Officer Emerson, instead decided to report Fabien Sun's actions to the police at Drake's Bay.

Fabien Sun would face a prolonged court case after his attempt at fraud was exposed. He would lose his company and a significant chunk of his personal fortune.

Red Pearl would return, in secret, to Beach City, where Pearl hid her with an indentified individual. She hoped that one day her red counterpart would be willing to open up and reveal herself to the Crystal Gems.

Garnet easily bubbled the Providence Gems, although it took her several days.

The Crystal Gems, as well as Connie, Greg and Sadie, were officially thanked by the Captain for their role in saving the ship.

On the last day of the voyage, the Captain decided to throw another ball - this time he didn't both with calling it anything else. It went much the same as the first, save for a lack of intrigue and Farthington, and most of the passengers and crew seemed to enjoy it. Despite this, not everybody stayed for the full duration.

Amethyst and Peridot had left the ball early and were now out on the bow of the ship, leaning on the railing. It was a mild night and the stars were out - all was basically peaceful.

"So, you don't want to do the waltz tonight?" asked Peridot.

"Nah," shrugged Amethyst, "Let's face it, it's too fancy. Save that stuff for Pearl; I've got a better idea."

She pointed to a small stereo sitting on the deck and grinned.

"Hmm," nodded Peridot, "I like the way you think, Amethyst."

She offered her hand.

"Shall we?"

Amethyst chuckled, took her hand and pressed play.

From up on the Main Deck, Steven, Connie and Lapis watched as the two small gems danced to the music - it was far from a waltz or even anything that had a name, but they were clearly having fun, which was the main thing. Lapis smiled, closing her eyes and nodding her head along to the music.

"I think she borrowed this from Dad," said Steven.

Connie shrugged, grabbing Steven's hand and beginning to dance herself. Steven laughed and joined in, closing his eyes and losing himself in the moment.

Another adventure was coming to an end, but despite all the danger and chaos, they'd had fun. And that, Steven knew, was the important thing.

 _Aruba, Jamaica, ooh, I want to take you to,  
Bermuda, Bahama, come on pretty mama,  
Key Largo, Montego, baby why don't we go,  
Oh I want to take you down to,  
Kokomo, we'll get there fast and then we'll take it slow,  
That's where we want to go, way down in Kokomo..._

* * *

"Replay that again."

"Sir."

The Man in Black watched the security footage play again. The blurry, black-and-white video looped, and once again the two children combined into one in a flash of light. The Man in Black scratched his chin and nodded.

"Do we have positive identification on who they are?" he asked.

"Not the boy, Agent Johnson sir," replied the technician at the desk in front of him, "But the girl is Connie Maheswaren."

"Indian?"

"Second-generation American."

Agent Johnson nodded.

"Keep an eye on her family," he said, "Be ready to move at my order."

He turned and walked to the door of the darkened room, pulling out his phone and spell-dialling a number as he did.

"Sir, this is Agent Johnson," he said, "We've got a lead."

" _Very good, Agent Johnson, very good. I shall be in touch._ "

The voice was smooth and clearly Southern-accented.

"Yes sir, thank you sir," nodded Johnson.

" _No, Agent, thank_ you _. Just remember, if your superiors come knocking, well..._ forget you saw me."

Johnson hung up the phone and carried on his day.

* * *

AN: Loose ends! Loose ends!

Well, this is the end of the story. I have plans for a sequel, _Delmarva Connie and the Temple of Diamonds_ , which as the name might indicate, is at least partially inspired by Indiana Jones. You can expect that in the next few weeks. Hopefully.

Thank you all very much for sticking with this, and I'm sorry for all of the delays. You've all been excellent (and very tolerant), and I can't express how much I appreciate that.

So, first Steven Universe fic done and dusted! I shall see you next time!

(...yes, I like the Beach Boys and I'm not sorry)


End file.
